To Choose is To Be Free
by PseudoSoapScribe
Summary: In a rare time of peace, Sonic finds himself in one of his toughest trials yet; having to choose between the attachment-free life he's always led or committing to a relationship with the one person he's ever fallen in love with. Shadow/Sonic (Sonadow), Knuckles/Sonic (Sonuckles), and mentions of past relationships. Yaoi, smut, and bad language throughout
1. Chapter 1

Sonic laid out in a peaceful field of sleepy lavender, the sun looming high above in the sky. It was that perfect time of year where the sun wasn't close enough to burn, but gave just enough warmth to sleep under it without the need of a shady tree.

He yawned as he turned to a more comfortable position on his side.

'What a great day,' he thought. 'No need for shade… Or shades, or shadows for that matter. Wait a minute… Shadow? _Shadow_!'

Speak of the devil, the black blur was approaching him at incredibly high velocity. If Sonic hadn't been quick on his feet, the impact could have been painful.

"Shadow?! What the hell? I was trying to take a nng—"

Before Sonic could finish, Shadow bested him with a kick to his side, effectively pissing off the blue hedgehog.

In a split second Shadow was off again, not leaving Sonic much time to think, much less react, so he did the only thing that came naturally to him and ran after the black hedgehog.

"Alright if it's a chase you want, it's a chase you'll get!"

It only took a moment for Sonic to catch up to the black hedgehog, surpassing his speed and distance until he realized that the black hedgehog had warped ahead of him.

"Dammit," he muttered and took his speed up one more notch. Only this time when he caught up to Shadow, the black hedgehog halted and turned around in order to catch him in his arms.

The sudden force of inertia sent Sonic reeling into Shadow, and they both rolled over each other until they came to a complete stop.

Shadow conveniently landed on top of the blue hedgehog, making his intent all the more evident.

After regaining his composure, Sonic noticed the leery look the black hedgehog gave him from above, as Shadow straddled him on his hands and knees. Sonic immediately shut him down by shoving him off.

"Shit… What's your problem? I don't see you for an age, and this is how you greet me," Sonic huffed.

"You're tired? That was barely a marathon. You really ought to keep yourself busy even in times of peace… You're losing your touch."

"Shut up! What the hell do you want?"

Sonic's patience with the black hedgehog was wearing thin.

"I thought I made it profoundly obvious just now, but I suppose you're more dense than I'd imagined."

Sonic made a fist in the ground, but resisted the urge to connect it with the black hedgehog's jaw.

"I mean, isn't this how all your little trysts begin? A little knocking around, a little chase, and then a roll in the grass? It's all very juvenile, but that's what makes it all the more interesting."

Sonic scoffed, looking away in annoyance. He hated how much the black hedgehog knew about his habits.

"I'm not… I'm not in the mood right now."

"Really… You don't seem so sure of that yourself," Shadow countered, looking at the blue hedgehog through a half lidded gaze and those hypnotic crimson eyes.

Sonic found it harder and harder to resist when he looked at him like that, and allowed Shadow to push him back down on the grass and resume his previous position over him, only this time the black hedgehog wedged his knee in between Sonic's legs.

Sonic placed a hand on Shadow's chest, ready to push him away again, but instead of doing so, he stroked him gently, running his fingers through the fluffy tuft of white fur. That was all Shadow needed to put his desire into overdrive; he lowered his muzzle to nip at a sensitive spot on the blue hedgehog's shoulder.

Sonic gasped as he felt something warm and hard pressing into his groin.

"Fine… You win… for now," he whispered breathlessly, before beginning his own exploration of the black hedgehog's body.

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Sonic awoke to the soothing purple and orange hues of twilight filtering through the trees in the forest. He hadn't realized just how far he'd ended up after his race with Shadow; it was quite a bit a ways from where he'd initially wanted to nap. He was sore, to say the least, and to stand up was a struggle in order to not further agitate himself. He wasn't about to run anywhere either, in this state.

Sonic looked around for any sign of the black hedgehog, but he quickly reminded himself of his better judgement and mentally kicked himself for ever thinking Shadow of all people would stick around after screwing him.

"Tch… figures. That asshole."

He didn't waste time beating himself down for sleeping with said asshole, however.

The blue hedgehog hated feeling dirty, so the next thing he needed to do was look for a place to shower quickly, and he wasn't about to jump into a stream or river in the forest.

He recognized the area he was currently in was near the newly rebuilt Station Square; he hadn't visited the city since its destruction some years back during the battle against Chaos, as it had taken nearly as many years to rehabilitate completely.

"Alright… I can do this," Sonic assured himself and made his way at a steady, but quick pace towards the city.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If Sonic didn't know any better, he would've never guessed the city had undergone the devastation that it did. The town looked nearly identical in configuration, save for the upgraded buildings; even the casino was back and conducting business as usual.

After a quick trip to the casino, Sonic was showered and refreshed, feeling back to his normal self again.

He was about to start running when he spotted a familiar red blur coming out of a brand new bakery near the casino.

"Knux?"

It was indeed Knuckles the Echidna, carrying a brown paper bag in one hand and waving back at him with the other.

"Hey, Sonic!" Knuckles sped over towards the hedgehog, grinning brightly at him. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so… Not since the last time we kicked ol' Egghead to the curb."

Knuckles nodded, recounting the event in his head.

"That was one hell of a fight," Sonic said enthusiastically, punching his fist into his palm for emphasis. "But, since then, it's been radio silence."

"Really? Think Eggman's actually turned over a new leaf this time?"

"Nah, I doubt it. He's probably just taking his time cooking up his next hair-brained scheme. I'm not complaining though. It's nice to be able to get some R and R without the constant threat of destruction."

Sonic stretched, still feeling slightly achy from his earlier activities, and he couldn't help but notice how the echidna's violet eyes lingered on his body when he did so.

Knuckles realized Sonic had noticed him staring, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Your fur's all wet," Knuckles pointed out. Oh that was a great cover, he thought. But he couldn't help that he liked how it glistened a darker blue, though he'd never admit it to the hedgehog.

"Yeah, well I just showered at the casino. I went for a run and ended up here. It's actually the first time I've been back here since it was rebuilt. How about you? What're you doing here?" Sonic asked as he started to walk without any real direction.

"Well, you know it's one of the closest metro areas to my island so it's pretty convenient to stop by here for food and supplies," Knuckles explained. He walked alongside the blue hedgehog, taking the lead.

"Oh really? Did you finally blow through all the grapes on your island?" Sonic teased.

"I've always eaten other foods, Sonic. Unlike you, I can't live off of one single type of food," Knuckles teased back, referring to Sonic's known love of chili dogs. "But I _did_ discover something that I can practically never get tired of."

Knuckles reached into the brown bag and produced a puffy round pastry for Sonic to see.

Sonic blinked twice inspecting the little puff and giving it a sniff or two.

"Well, it's no chili dog, but it smells pretty good."

"It's a leek bun. You wanna try it?"

Sonic shrugged but before he could say anything else, Knuckles put the pastry in the hedgehog's mouth.

"Well, it isn't terrible," Sonic said after taking a bite and swallowing. He finished the rest of it before wondering where they were headed. "Are you on your way back home?" he wondered.

"Sort of… Actually, I was gonna make one more stop before heading back to the island."

"Oh? Where to?"

"The chao garden."

Sonic had all but forgotten about the chao garden's existence in this city. Come to think of it, he hadn't heard the term in ages.

"The chao garden… Whoa, that totally slipped my mind! Do you mind if I tag along? I'd love to visit it, too."

"Not at all," Knuckles agreed, leading the way toward the hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Sonic was hit with a wave of nostalgia. After so many adventures following the Chaos incident, this particular chao garden felt like something out of a bygone era.

"Whoa. This place… I can't believe it's still here… It looks just like it did before," Sonic remarked, in complete awe of the precious little garden.

Knuckles led them to a spot in the middle of the garden and set down his paper bag.

"It's pretty amazing. Among all the wreckage and devastation in this city, this chao garden was the only thing that was found intact."

"No way… Are the others still around?"

"If by 'others' you mean the other gardens, then yes," Knuckles answered matter-of-factly. "They're all just as lively and active as this one."

Several chao approached the pair from wherever they had been snoozing when they caught a whiff of whatever Knuckles had brought for them.

Sonic was so overwhelmed by all the little chao, he didn't know who to pet first; he picked up a winged orange colored chao that was snuggling up to his leg.

"Hey there, little buddy."

"Here, try this Sonic," Knuckles said as he reached into his bag and handed the hedgehog a yellow fruit.

"Ah, thanks."

The little chao gobbled up the fruit, giving Sonic his approval by making cute cooing noises.

"He really likes it."

"I know… I also got seeds to grow trees for them, so once they're old enough they can forage for themselves."

"That's thinking ahead… You know, I always came and fed them myself, but I remember there being different fruit trees poppin' out of places where I hadn't seen any before. And I always thought the chao did that themselves, but it must've been you all along."

"Oh… uhm, maybe. Guess I kinda lost track." Knuckles didn't know why he was embarrassed to admit it. "Anyway, most of the chao here are newborns. Generations have come and gone since the ones you and I knew."

Sonic sat down on the grass with one leg crossed over a bent knee.

"Hm… You learn something new every day, huh tough guy?" Sonic teased, outstretching his leg to poke Knuckles with his foot.

He wasn't sure why, but something about the echidna was bringing out his flirtatious side today. Maybe it was because this was the first time in ages the two of them hung out together without anyone else, or any _thing_ else pending.

Knuckles didn't seem to mind however, as he crouched down to feed and pet a few more grateful chao.

"Hey, Knux, I was wondering," Sonic started.

He was getting bored so he thought it would be a good idea to have a little fun at the oh-so-serious echidna's expense.

"When you're here lookin' after these little guys, who's guarding the Master Emerald?"

"Same as whenever I go on adventures with you and Tails," Knuckles stated, straightening up again and directing his attention back to Sonic. "My connection to the Master Emerald has only strengthened over time, so I can sense whenever it's in immediate danger… But that's not nearly good enough if I'm not around to protect it. That's where this comes in."

Knuckles scrunched down the cuff of one of his mitts to show Sonic his wrist.

"A watch?" Sonic asked, unimpressed by the device on the echidna's wrist.

"Not just a watch. It's got telecommunication capabilities."

"Heh… That's pretty high tech for a guy who lives on an ancient floating island. So how's it work? You rigged the place with cameras and booby traps?"

"Not at all. Espio's got one just like it."

"Espio?!" This caused Sonic to sit up straight.

Knuckles continued to explain nonchalantly, "It's more of a precautionary measure. Whenever I'm away, I've arranged for him to stay there and let me know if there's any suspicious activity on the island."

"Yeah, but _him_?"

"Why not? Espio and I go way back, so I trust him. He can hold his own in a battle and he's a master at camouflage, so anyone who thinks the island is unguarded will be in for a big surprise. It gives me a bit of leeway in case I do need to go back."

"Wow, you really thought this thing through with him. Bet you'd never trust _me_ to guard the big rock," Sonic muttered, slinking back down on the grass.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Sonic. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were getting jealous."

"I'm not jealous…"

Knuckles raised a brow at him, knowing the hedgehog couldn't keep quiet.

"But! If there's any hero work that needs to be doing, I would think you'd ask someone with more experience."

"Oh, like you? Sonic, you're the last person I'd want protecting the Master Emerald. Not because I don't trust you, but because you'd probably get bored and fall asleep, or take off running. Meanwhile the Master Emerald and my island would be left totally vulnerable to thieves."

"Okay, maybe… but I'd always get it _back_. I mean, there's no fun in just sitting and watching the stupid rock. Right?"

Knuckles decided to drop it, simply shaking his head at the hedgehog.

Sonic stayed silent for a minute thinking, while Knuckles continued looking after the chao.

"So… do you and Espio have a thing?" Sonic finally asked.

The inquiry made Knuckles stop in his tracks.

"What?" he questioned yet again.

"You know… You two ever bump uglies?"

"Wha? No way! Why would you even ask that?"

"Because… The way you talk about him, kinda made me think—"

"Well, it's not like that, okay?!"

Sonic could see the echidna's muzzle turning almost as red as his fur. For some reason, the hedgehog enjoyed seeing the guardian losing his usual composure.

"Oh? Then do you mind filling me in on what it _is_ like? How about Rouge? You ever have a thing with her?"

"Bat girl? Hell no! I haven't even seen or heard from her in ages. That's a good thing, too. All she does is get under my skin."

"So you aren't interested in her?"

"Of course not!"

"Then, who _are_ you interested in?"

"No one!"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to get your tail all in a twist," Sonic said, putting his hands up in retreat.

"Why are you asking me all these questions all of sudden?"

Sonic furrowed his brows, wondering that himself. It was mostly to tease and get a reaction out of guardian, wasn't it? He shrugged, and decided to not overthink it.

"I dunno. You're cute when you're all flustered."

For a moment Knuckles was surprised at the response, but he quickly went back to his previous temperament, knowing Sonic couldn't be serious.

"Don't call me _cute_."

"But it's true… Must be why everyone always likes to pick on you. Isn't that right, PiuPiu?" Sonic picked up the orange chao that had been laying next to him and held it up close to the echidna.

The little chao simply made happy chao sounds and Sonic took it as agreement.

"See?"

Knuckles humphed at the notion, then raised a brow at Sonic.

"PiuPiu?" he questioned.

"Gotta call him something. Or her..? You know I could never really tell with these little guys," Sonic wondered, inspecting the chao by turning it every which way before setting it back down.

Knuckles shrugged, not knowing anything about that either.

"Well, I'm getting pretty hungry myself and leek buns are just not gonna cut it right now," Sonic said getting up and stretching a bit again. "I'm gonna go see if I can find a chili dog around here somewhere. I'll catchya later, Knux."

Sonic gave Knuckles' shoulder a gentle squeeze before turning to leave.

"Hey Sonic," Knuckles called before Sonic stepped away. "It was kinda nice… to just hang out, you know… just the two of us. We should do it more often."

Sonic gave the guardian one of his signature grins. He knew his charms were irresistible.

"Definitely," he answered simply.

Sonic then unexpectedly pulled Knuckles into a quick embrace, searching the tense echidna's violet eyes as he pulled away. His tan muzzle glowed brightly once again.

"I'll hold you to that," Sonic said finally, before leaving for real this time.

Knuckles was unsure of what just happened, but he couldn't say he didn't like it. He'd have a lot to think about on his way home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"That looks appetizing."

Sonic was about take a bite of his chili dog when he heard the sarcastic remark coming from behind him. He was currently sitting at a table outside of the restaurant where he'd found his favorite food.

Shadow could sense the eye roll before the blue hedgehog turned around to face him, looking very pissed at him for interrupting his meal.

"What the hell do you want now, Shadow?"

"If you're assuming that I came to you because I _want_ something, then you've already answered your own question. You know there's only one thing that I want from _you_."


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow sauntered over to sit across the table from Sonic, the blue hedgehog narrowing his eyes at him for doing so, but opted to finish eating first before saying anything else.

"You can cut the bitchy attitude, Sonic. You keep acting like you're not happy to see me, when I know that's not the case."

Sonic swallowed the last bit of his dinner before speaking up again. "Did you ever stop to think that _maybe_ I don't appreciate being attacked out of nowhere?"

"Oh I'm sorry, but as I recall this is _your_ way of doing these sorts of things."

" _One_ time. It happened that way _once_ … and man am I starting to regret that."

"Not if you count earlier today. And that was just with _me_. Don't forget that I know what you got up to with the hawk after the racing tournament."

"Geez, you're such a creep! How do you just slink around and watch people having sex without their consent?"

"It wasn't like you two were being particularly inconspicuous."

"A decent person wouldn't stay around to watch!"

"Whatever. My point still stands. You're an easy lay, and I'm in the mood for another round tonight."

That remark didn't fare well with Sonic. He was uncharacteristically angered by it; standing up, he backhanded his cup of soda towards the black hedgehog.

Shadow hadn't expected the blue hero to pull that on him and didn't attempt to dodge it. He was left with a pile of ice on his lap and his fur soaking wet, while Sonic sped away to an unknown destination.

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Once Sonic had gotten far enough away, he found a quiet spot in the forest at the outskirts of the city. It was dark by now, the only light source being the moonlit sky, so he didn't see the black hedgehog approaching him yet again.

He felt two strong arms grabbing him from behind, making him let out a small gasp.

"Stop running," Shadow whispered in that deadly tone of his.

Sonic's heart raced faster, but he didn't allow Shadow to see that he was getting nervous.

Shadow felt Sonic ease up so he let go and the blue hedgehog turned to face him.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it, hedgehog?" Shadow stated, feeling pretty bold in his assertions. He folded his arms over his chest looking intensely at Sonic.

Sonic could hardly bear to maintain eye contact with the other hedgehog, fixing his gaze on a spot of grass beside him.

Seeing him like that caused Shadow to change his tact.

"Listen to me. I'm not judging you for the way you live your life. I'm simply saying that I know how you operate… It's no use to try to deny that, especially from me. I'm a willing participant."

With every one of those last words, Shadow inched closer to Sonic, putting his hands on both shoulders and giving them a light caress. This was probably the most gentle he would ever be towards Sonic.

Sonic finally looked up at Shadow, accepting the black hedgehog's speech, knowing that he wouldn't back down any time soon. After all, was it really that bad? He did enjoy their romp earlier, minus the part when he attacked him.

Shadow was already leaning in for a kiss, before Sonic even gave him a real answer; Sonic reciprocating the kiss was enough of answer for the black hedgehog.

In the midst of the increasingly heated kiss, Sonic felt his back connect with the bark of a tree. He put his arms around Shadow's shoulders when he felt the black hedgehog forcing him to raise his legs and wrap them around him. He was perfectly lined up for what he knew would come next. Shadow was fast, and wasted no time in preparation; he was already aroused and ready to get inside the blue hedgehog's hot body.

Sonic winced when he felt Shadow begin to enter him.

"Fuckk… Shadow… Go easy on me, will ya?" Sonic said, breathlessly. "I'm still sore from earlier today."

"Shut it and enjoy this while it lasts."

The pain made tears form at the corners of Sonic's eyes; he certainly wasn't enjoying this as much as Shadow was. He reached in between their bodies as they pressed together, making his way down to his own arousal to stroke himself.

"Don't!" Shadow shouted, at the same time thrusting into Sonic particularly hard, making him whimper and moan loudly. "You'll come on my terms this time," he whispered dangerously, narrowing his crimson eyes at the blue hedgehog.

"God, you're an asshole even when we're fucking…. Nnngh."

The retort didn't go unpunished as Shadow continued his rough treatment of Sonic.

"You want to feel real pleasure? I'm gonna make you come… just on my cock."

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When all was said and done, Shadow let Sonic's feet return to the ground. His legs buckled beneath him, unable to find a steady balance just yet. He landed on his hands and knees, and Shadow did nothing to help support him.

"That was satisfying," Shadow simply declared. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did."

"Tch…"

Sonic enjoyed it for what it was, but he wasn't about to let Shadow know that and boost his ego.

"W-where you going?" Sonic asked, slightly out of breath.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up. I'll see you around, hedgehog," Shadow said, leaving Sonic to look after himself.

"Ugh…" Sonic wanted so badly to call after the black hedgehog, and yell at him for leaving him in this state, but immediately decided against it. He was better off without him anyway.

Sonic attempted to stand up once again, but when he did so, he felt a trickle of semen run down his thighs and belly. He was momentarily disgusted by it and decided he'd spend the night in the forest until he felt well enough to find a shower. As he laid down on the grass with his arms folded behind his quills, he gazed up at the moon through the leaves in the trees, until its dim light lulled him to sleep.

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Up on the floating isle, Knuckles gazed at the same moon from his place on the altar. He couldn't stop thinking about Sonic and the way he had been around him earlier.

The gentle feel of the hug he'd received still lingered as well. And the way the blue hedgehog had looked upon him with his pretty emerald colored eyes… They were as green and beautiful as the master emerald itself, Knuckles thought.

He couldn't believe himself, but tonight solidified something he knew he'd always felt for Sonic. His feelings were definitely no longer platonic.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days after their last encounter, Knuckles entered the Chao garden and was surprised to be greeted by the sight of the blue hedgehog.

"Oh. Hey Sonic… I didn't expect to see you back here so soon," Knuckles remarked as he approached him in the middle of the garden.

"Yeah? Well, I knew if I kept coming by, I'd run into you eventually… And anyway, weren't _you_ the one who said we should hang out more?" he asked, shooting Knuckles a glance from where he laid out on the grass.

"Yeah but, I didn't exactly mean in the Chao garden."

"Hn. Well I really like it here… It's quiet enough to just relax and take a nap."

Knuckles started making his rounds checking on all the chao making sure they were fed and happy.

"So what have you been up to since I last saw you?" he asked after a short silence, going over to sit next to Sonic.

For a brief moment, the other night with Shadow crossed Sonic's mind, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just going here and there, visiting Tails and the others. I'm kind of all over the place these days. Gotta make sure no one's causing any trouble."

"You take it upon yourself to keep the peace wherever you go?"

"You know it. What about you? What're you up to now that you've got good ol' Espio taking care of business up on the island?"

"It really isn't an everyday thing, Sonic… but whenever I do get the chance to get off the island, I do what I do best of course; hunting for treasure. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about having you come along with me on my next expedition."

Sonic's ears perked up at this and he sat up.

"Go on a treasure hunting adventure?"

"I mean... If you're up for it," Knuckles added in sheepishly. He wanted to play it off casually in case Sonic turned him down.

Sonic's eyes widened at the notion.

"Do you really have to ask? Of course you can count me in!"

Knuckles was relieved and excited at the same time.

"Can we go today?" Sonic asked excitedly.

"Oh uhm… I guess I can let Espio know he'll be on duty longer than usual. He'll certainly appreciate the extra payment anyhow."

"Great! Let's get moving."

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After they exited the chao garden, Knuckles led Sonic over to the dock near the hotel.

"Um, where exactly did you say we're going?"

"Emerald Cove… It's just a short boat ride off the coast of Station Square. I've got all the equipment we'll need right here on my boat."

Knuckles undid the rope anchoring the small row boat to the dock and stepped inside, lending Sonic a hand to do the same.

Sonic hesitated for a moment before taking Knuckles' hand to get in the boat. He was really appreciative of Knuckles for how cordial he was being towards him, but at the same time he was unusually apprehensive about the trip they were about to take.

Knuckles took note of Sonic's sudden quietness after stepping into the boat.

"Something the matter Sonic?"

Sonic shook it off, not wanting to disappoint his friend.

"Just excited to find some treasure," Sonic shrugged, plastering a fake grin on his face.

"I hope you're saving the enthusiasm for later," Knuckles teased.

Once they were comfortably situated inside the boat, Knuckles started rowing.

They sat facing toward each other, but neither really looked at the other, instead looking out at the blue, foamy vastness and admiring the pretty scenery around them.

After some time passed, Sonic ended up closing his eyes, letting his ears take over his other senses for a while, until Knuckles' deep soothing voice pulled him out of his daydream.

"Sonic…"

His eyes snapped open to see the echidna's violet eyes lingering over him.

"...we're almost there now."

Sonic looked around, spotting the cove in the misty distance.

"Ah, I see it! Whoa, what a sight."

"Just so you know, no matter what we find, we'll split it fifty-fifty. Treasure hunter's rules."

"Wow, you're really serious about this stuff aren't you? You know you don't have to be so formal around me. I'm just here for the thrill of the hunt!"

"I know, but, we're in this together."

"Alright. Thanks Knux."

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When they finally reached the cove, Knuckles stood up and opened the latch to the chest in his boat.

"What's that for?" Sonic asked when he saw Knuckles pull out what looked like a mask.

Knuckles gave him a questioning look, as if to say it should be obvious.

"It's our diving gear."

"Diving? Wait a sec… I thought you said we were going to look for treasure in the cove."

"We are in the cove. But we aren't gonna find anything on the surface, we need to dive."

"Knuckles!" Sonic said, beginning to raise his voice. "I can't swim and you _know_ that."

"Of course I know that. It doesn't matter. I'll be guiding you through the process."

Sonic scoffed at the way Knuckles had so callously dismissed his known inability to swim.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? What part of _I can't swim_ don't you understand?"

"Sonic, what're you getting so bent out of shape about? I have all the diving equipment we need so you don't have to worry about holding your breath. All we have to do is get to the bottom. I promise, you'll be fine."

"No. No way. I'm not doing it."

Sonic crossed his arms in front of his chest, sulking childishly.

Knuckles couldn't believe how pissy the hedgehog was being and he completely blew up.

"What's your problem?! Why the hell would you agree to come with me if you were just gonna shit out at the last minute!?"

"I wouldn't have agreed to come with you if you had just told me you were making me dive underwater in the first place!"

Sonic sat back down on the boat, trying to calm himself down from the outburst.

" _Take me back_ ," he said sternly.

Knuckles stubbornly frowned at the hedgehog answering him with resolution.

"No."

"Take me back or I'll take myself back!" Sonic shouted, grabbing one of the oars.

"You give that back, I'm not going back until I find what I came here to find!"

Knuckles tried snatching the oar away from Sonic, but the hedgehog wouldn't let it go. They struggled for a few seconds before Knuckles used his full strength, unintentionally pulling Sonic out of his seat with the oar still in his grasp. The sudden jerking motion sent the hedgehog flying over Knuckles, the feeling of dread overtaking the echidna when he realized what had just happened. He heard a splashing sound behind him, followed by Sonic's thrashing while trying to stay afloat.

"Knuckles!" Sonic shouted through choking coughs.

Knuckles didn't give it a second thought, diving off the boat and swimming towards Sonic before the hedgehog started sinking.

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"You… jerk," Sonic uttered, still coughing up water. He was on all fours at the bottom of the boat after Knuckles had managed to get them both back safely.

"You're welcome," Knuckles said sourly, draping a towel over Sonic's quills.

Sonic got up and took a seat, wrapping the towel around himself, while staring down the echidna through a narrow gaze.

Knuckles rolled his eyes at him, and although it was hard to admit, he felt like he might have been the one in the wrong this time. He thought hard about what he was about to say. He sighed, deciding it was best to just come out with it.

"Sonic… listen. I'm sorry I knocked you off like that… I really didn't mean to…"

Hearing this, Sonic's ears perked up and his expression softened. He never expected an honest apology from Knuckles. He wondered what could have brought about this change of character.

"I didn't mean to get so upset…" Knuckles continued. "I just had this perfect vision for how this would play out. After you agreed to come with me, I was... so happy. I completely disregarded how you'd feel about going underwater. I really thought you'd enjoy this."

Sonic realized how heartbroken Knuckles must have been. He couldn't stand seeing him like that and rushed over to his side.

"No, Knuckles… I'm sorry. I totally overreacted and it was completely selfish, and uncalled for... You didn't deserve that."

Now it was Knuckles' turn to be surprised; he hadn't expected an apology either. He also didn't expect Sonic to grab on to his wrists the way he did. For a moment all he could do was look at Sonic, admire the hedgehog's cute features; his pretty green eyes and cute pointy ears. Knuckles' eyes darted all over Sonic's face, suppressing the rising urge he felt to kiss his friend. He finally looked away, almost ashamed for thinking it.

"Knux… What were you thinking about just now?" Sonic asked softly, surreptitiously gliding his hands over Knuckles' arms, from his wrists to his shoulders.

"I… uh…" Knuckles stuttered, still trying to avoid making eye contact.

"Do you wanna kiss me?" Sonic asked, almost mischievously. He gently held Knuckles' jaw, tilting his head down to look directly at him. "It's okay…"

"Sonic…"

Knuckles couldn't resist the temptation any longer. His mouth lingered hesitantly over Sonic's, as he slowly gained the courage he needed to close the gap between them, eyes naturally closing shut, and mouths connecting in a gentle kiss. Knuckles slowly wrapped his arms around Sonic's waist, pulling the hedgehog closer to his body.

Sonic reciprocated the action, wrapping his arms around echidna's shoulders. He ran his gloved hands through Knuckles' lock-like spines.

With each passing second, their kissing became more passionate and needy. Sonic felt one of Knuckles' large mitts caress a very sensitive area for him, just below the quills on his back and above his tail, sending very real signals to the rest of his body. He instinctively began to raise his legs, wrapping them one by one around the echidna's lean waist so that their groins were pressing up against one another.

Knuckles had never been so aroused before, at first enjoying the feeling, but quickly dismissing it when his brain got the better of him. The surprise of what it would mean if they proceeded this way made him take a few steps backwards, until he fell into his seat.

Sonic hardly noticed the change in position, continuing to make out with him as if nothing had happened.

Knuckles reluctantly broke the kiss, pushing Sonic gently away by his shoulders, worried when he saw the confused look on Sonic's face.

"Why'd you stop?" Sonic wondered aloud, slightly breathless. With all the guys Sonic had been with, this was usually the point where the other party tended to take over.

"We were moving pretty fast… don't you think?"

Knuckles' muzzle was noticeably pink now.

The thought hadn't even occurred to Sonic. He wondered if Knuckles' hesitance was attributed to his lack of experience.

"You've never done any of this before, have you?" he asked, getting off Knuckles' lap and sitting next to him in order to give him some space.

Knuckles shook his head, becoming even more embarrassed. "No, but… I really like you Sonic. I think I have for a while now."

"So what's the matter?" Sonic couldn't comprehend why that would stop someone from wanting to have sex with him. Even the guys that hated him would still sleep with him.

"I don't know, shouldn't we… go on a date first or something?"

Dating seemed like a foreign concept to Sonic. In his mind, dating was for people who wanted to end up getting married, something someone like Amy would appreciate, and the thought of _that_ made him cringe.

"A date? Guess I've never really been on one before… but why?"

"To be sure that it's what we really want to do… I mean, we've been friends for some time now, but what I feel for you is still pretty new to me. I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship over something like that."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Sonic felt the same way, but he had never thought about it the way Knuckles had. "You're really sweet when you want to be, Knuckles," Sonic said, smiling at the echidna. He leaned over to give him a kiss that sent Knuckles' heart aflutter all over again.

After a moment, Knuckles spoke up again.

"Well, now I don't feel too bad about this treasure hunt being a bust." He went over to sit on his side of the boat to row.

"Yeah, I'm still really sorry about that," Sonic said, apologetically.

"No, don't worry about it anymore. Who knows if we would have actually been able to find anything."

"At least we can't say it wasn't memorable," Sonic suggested.

"No kidding. We should hurry back before the sun starts setting. The waves get pretty wild after dark… and I don't think either of us have had dinner yet, I'm starving."

"Same here," Sonic agreed, patting his belly for emphasis.

"Hey Sonic… What do you say to having dinner together tonight?"

Sonic gave Knuckles the biggest grin he could muster, knowing exactly what the guardian was getting at.

"It's a date."


	5. Chapter 5

"Feels great to be back on steady ground!" Sonic exclaimed after stepping off the boat.

Knuckles gave him a small smile, inwardly wondering if Sonic would ever get over his fear of drowning.

Back at the dock in Station Square, Knuckles also thought about where exactly he could take Sonic for dinner. He knew Sonic loved his chili dogs, and the hedgehog would be happy if he took him anywhere he could get one but that just didn't seem special enough for the occasion.

"Hey, how about we go to Twinkle Park, Sonic?" Knuckles suggested. "We can have dinner at the picnic area and then check out the other attractions."

"Sure, sounds like a good time to me. But I kinda wanna go freshen up a bit first. I smell like sea water! Give me thirty minutes, tops. I'll meet you back here."

Knuckles nodded in agreement.

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

He wanted to lean over and give Sonic a farewell kiss, but he wasn't sure how the hedgehog felt about PDA yet. So he left him with an awkward half wave, and the hedgehog sped away towards his destination. Knuckles figured he'd do the same as Sonic and headed back to his island.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic approached Tails' house, knocking first before opening the door and peering around for his fox friend.

"Tails?"

Apparently the fox boy wasn't home. Sonic let himself in as this was sort of a second home to him, if he could even say he had one to begin with. He had always loved the freedom of the outdoors, living a generally nomadic life, but Tails' home provided him with a place to keep his belongings and use as crash-pad whenever he needed shelter.

After a quick shower, Sonic decided on wearing some of his more stylish shoes and even accessorized his gloves with some silver bangles. He finished off his look with a pair of silver shades over his forehead that were more for show than for practical use.

Looking at his reflection in Tails' full length mirror, Sonic decided he was satisfied with his appearance and hoped he would impress Knuckles.

"Sonic, you're back!"

"Oh, hey Tails. I didn't hear you come in," Sonic said, slightly startled by his friend.

"Yeah, you left the door open," the two-tailed fox said, taking a seat in his living room couch.

"Oops. I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Ohh, you're going out again?" Tails asked, sounding a bit disappointed. He felt like he hadn't seen much of his blue hedgehog friend lately. "Where're you off to?"

"Oh, y'know. Just gonna go hang out… Knuckles invited me to go with him to Twinkle Park in Station Square."

Sonic wondered if he should elaborate more than that, but quickly decided against it. He never told Tails the details of his personal life.

"Really? Do you think I can come with?" Tails' eyes lit up with excitement and his tails twirled behind him. It had been a while since they'd all gotten together.

"Uh, well… I don't think he's expecting any more guests…"

'Oh great, way to make Knuckles seem like a total unwelcoming jerk,' Sonic thought.

"But next time, we'll all go together for sure," he added quickly.

'He's totally buying it,' Sonic thought to himself.

"Okay. Have fun then… And tell Knuckles I say hi."

"Sure will. See you soon buddy!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic was back in Station Square in a matter of minutes and he spotted the echidna waiting for him near the entrance to the park.

"Hey," Knuckles greeted.

He could hardly keep his eyes off Sonic as the blue hedgehog casually strolled over to him. After hiding his feelings for so long it felt very liberating for him to be able to check out his friend without feeling ashamed for doing so.

"You look good."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, tough guy," Sonic said, raising a brow suggestively.

Knuckles cleared his throat, trying to stop his imagination from running wild. He started to wonder how he was gonna make it through this date without lusting after Sonic the entire time.

"So you ready for this?"

"Of course. Let's go."

Once they were inside the park, they bought food from several vendors and found a much less crowded area of the park where they could sit and eat on the grass. From there they could see the castle and hear the thrilled screams coming from the coaster that ran around it.

"You know, I've never been into the whole dating thing…" Sonic started, after eating a bit of his dinner. He set aside his plate of food, and turned to face the echidna. "But, sitting here under the stars with you just feels… right."

"Heh, I still can't really wrap my head around it," Knuckles admitted, taking his attention off his food as well. "The whole time I was on my way to Angel Island I kept thinking to myself, 'did I really just kiss Sonic and ask him out on a date with me?' It still doesn't feel real."

"Oh yeah?"

The way they sat shoulder to shoulder made it easy for Sonic to just lean in and steal a kiss from Knuckles without much warning. It didn't last much more than a second but the passion behind it nearly knocked the wind out of him. Sonic was a bit surprised at himself for how badly he'd been wanting to do that again.

"Does it feel a little more real now?" he asked, as he slowly receded from the kiss.

Knuckles nodded, and closed in for another, more chaste kiss.

Somehow, eating was no longer on Sonic's mind as his appetite for something else grew much stronger.

Knuckles was beginning to feel the same way, but he was determined to keep himself under control until the time was right. He decided to change the subject to something safer.

"Sonic… I've known you for some time now, but I feel like there's still so much about you that I _don't_ know."

Sonic quirked a brow at him, wondering what he meant by that.

"Like what?"

"Like, I don't know… There's the 'you' that we all see on the surface… the guy that loves nature and adventure and all… But, what else do you do besides running and hero work? What're your favorite pastimes… your favorite color? Your favorite foods. Things like that…"

"Oh," Sonic pondered it for a moment. It surprised him that someone would be interested in knowing those things about him. "Well, you know I'm not that deep. I mean, I like to go dancing, and I like eating sweets just as much as I love chili dogs. My favorite color is red," Sonic said shrugging.

He contemplated telling Knuckles about his sexual interests, but decided against it. If he did, he'd have to get into his history with Shadow and the handful of other guys he'd been with, and he absolutely did not want to bring _that_ up.

"Red? Really?"

"Yeah, is it that hard to believe? Why do you think I always wear red shoes?"

"Guess it just never dawned on me."

Sonic laid his head on Knuckles' shoulder and placed a hand on his chest, absent-mindedly tracing the white crescent on it.

"It's a sexy color… Reminds me of the first time I met you. I thought you were pretty hot. But of course you were such a jerk to me back then, I didn't think you had any interest in me."

"I didn't initially… Let's not forget you were a cocky little git, too…"

"Hn, maybe… but it was only because I wanted to get your attention."

"Well, you didn't have to try so hard… Things turned around pretty quickly after that."

"Really? When was that?" This piqued the hedgehog's interest and he looked up at Knuckles, waiting for his response.

Knuckles thought about the time they had to stop the space colony ARK from falling and how he'd gotten jealous when Sonic ran off with Shadow. It had been extremely selfish seeing as how they were literally trying to save the world, but the point was that he realized then how much he hated seeing Sonic getting on with someone else.

"Never mind that… it's not important."

"Seriously? Com'on, you can't just ask me a ton of questions and then not spill when I'm curious about you."

Sonic pushed Knuckles down onto the grass, feigning annoyance, but he actually didn't mind it much. He pinned the echidna's wrists down on either side of his hips, leering at him before lowering his head to kiss him.

Sonic let go of his wrists, and Knuckles took the opportunity to put his hands around the hedgehog's waist, caressing his lower back and sending shivers down the hedgehog's spine. Things were beginning to heat up between them again, and getting so dangerously risqué that Knuckles thought, at that rate they'd get kicked out of the park for indecency. He sat up, effectively giving Sonic the message that he needed some air.

"Sonic…" he started breathlessly. "Let's do something. There's a dance hall inside the castle… do you wanna go check it out?"

Sonic almost said he'd rather be dancing in between the sheets, but refrained from doing so, thinking it might be better to keep that side of himself toned down for now.

"Sure, I'm up for it…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the dance hall, the music was deafeningly loud and vibrated throughout the entire hall. They could literally feel it pulsing through their bodies. Sonic had to shout at the top of his lungs in order for Knuckles to hear him.

"This is gonna be so much fun!"

Sonic held onto Knuckles' hand and led him to the center of the dancing throng. He felt right at home, wasting no time getting into the rhythm of the music. It was a fast, uplifting hardstyle dance track that made him feel like he was dancing in the clouds.

Knuckles had never danced like this before, but he could definitely see why Sonic loved it. The lights flashed to the beat of the music, making every movement look like a still frame.

Sonic raised his hands above his head, swaying his body from side to side, going down low and coming up again, spinning around, even break dancing at points. Knuckles could hardly keep up, so he danced more passively, keeping his movements more steady to the rhythm of the music. When the music came to a transition point, Sonic rested his hands on Knuckles' shoulders, pulling their bodies closer together so he could do a bump and grind against the echidna's body.

It was here that Knuckles pretty much began losing control, grabbing onto the back of the hedgehogs thighs, lifting his feet off the ground. Sonic was taken by surprise but quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around the echidna's shoulders, melting into his touch with sloppy kisses as Knuckles carried him away from crowd.

"Let's get the hell out of here. We need to find somewhere more private."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They made out in this position all the way into the elevator and down to the exit of Twinkle Park. Once they were outside, Knuckles let Sonic back down on his feet, and held his hand leading him across the street.

"How about I book us a room in the hotel for tonight."

Sonic simply nodded in agreement, happy about the prospect of spending a whole night in a comfy hotel bed with Knuckles. His smile faded temporarily when out of his peripheral vision, he spotted a familiar black figure loitering at the top of the train station steps.

"Hey, Knux… hold on just a minute. Do you mind if I wait outside while you do that?" he asked when they neared the hotel doors. He had to make sure he wasn't going crazy and who he thought he saw was really there.

"Sure… is something the matter? I totally understand if you change your mind… We don't even have to—"

"No. God, no… I mean, whatever happens… I want it to happen okay? I just don't wanna make it too obvious that we're going to spend the night together. People around here know who we are."

Knuckles thought it was odd, considering they were just making out all over Twinkle Park but decided not to question it.

"Okay. If that's what you want. I'll let you know when it's ready."

The guardian walked off and entered the hotel. Sonic watched Knuckles through the glass doors and waited until he was fully immersed in his task before heading back towards the the train station.

It was Shadow's unmistakable figure he saw in the dark as they passed the station, and he could see him clearly now as the black hedgehog leaned on a brick wall.

"Shadow! What the hell are you doing here?" Sonic shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

Shadow shot a sideways glance at the hedgehog, but didn't move from his position.

"Hn. Is it written somewhere that I can't be here?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to loiter in front of government establishments. But that's beside the point. Why are you following me around?"

Shadow simply let out a low laugh, testing Sonic's patience.

"Oh you think it's funny?"

"You amuse me, hedgehog," Shadow said, coming down the steps slowly. "I'm not following you around. I just happened to come across a little two-tailed birdie who couldn't help pouring out his heart to me. He was moping all by himself, wishing that his surrogate _brother_ would stop neglecting him. He told me that you abandoned him in favor of spending time with that meathead echidna."

"What? Tails would never say anything like that!"

"He didn't have to… it was written all over his pathetic face. I honestly couldn't believe it, so I had to come see for myself."

"Tch. You're so full of shit you know that?"

"Anyway, I think it's pretty clear now what you're getting up to with him. I guess it was only a matter of time before you started sleeping with one of your so-called 'friends'. It's funny how this one thinks you're classy enough to warrant a room. I bet you can't wait for him to fuck you into the mattress."

"You shut your face!"Sonic lost it and took a swing at the black hedgehog. Shadow easily dodged the punch, infuriating Sonic even further. "Are you mad because you can't watch?!"

"Oh, you wish I was watching don't you?"

"Go fuck yourself, you freak."

Sonic was so ready to just throw down and fight Shadow right then and there, but he kept in mind Knuckles was probably finishing up at the hotel by now. He turned on his heel without another word to the black hedgehog.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic entered the hotel just as Knuckles had finished with the concierge.

"Hey. It's ready," the echidna said, flashing Sonic a nervous grin and handed him a key card. Knuckles noticed Sonic's more somber demeanor, and gave him a concerned look. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Sonic wished it was a ghost; a ghost of his past, perhaps, but the black hedgehog kept making sure that he was still very much a presence in his life. He wanted to tell Knuckles so badly about Shadow now, but the words would not leave his mouth.

"No, I'm fine… Maybe a little tired."

"Not _too_ tired, I hope."

"Definitely not," Sonic said slipping his hands around the echidna's slim waist to reel him in for a kiss. "Oops, I hope no one saw that. Com'on let's head up."

Sonic spun around Knuckles, herding him towards the elevators.

When they finally reached their room, Sonic was thoroughly impressed by the quality of their accommodations.

"Whoa, Knux, you didn't have to do this. A room like this must cost an arm and a leg."

He went up to the wide window, opening the blinds to reveal the spectacular view of the city and its ocean side.

"I got lucky on one of my last treasure hunts so I had quite a bit of money saved up for a special occasion… I think this definitely qualifies as one."

Sonic smiled at this, running his gloved fingers over the soft sheets before sitting down on the roomy bed.

"Normally, I don't care for anything flashy like this, but I really appreciate you doing this for me. For us…"

"Well... you deserve it."

Knuckles was apparently beginning to get more nervous, not knowing what to do, so he just went over and sat on the edge of the bed not quite facing Sonic yet. He felt the mattress shift behind him, then Sonic's hands running down the sides of his arms.

"Maybe... but you've definitely earned _this_."

The hedgehog moved one of the echidna's locks off his shoulder, lowering his mouth to nip at the sensitive area, trailing upwards with sultry kisses until their lips met again.

Knuckles deepened the kiss, cupping the hedgehog's face with his mitt, until he could no longer stand the distance between their bodies. He turned around, slowly crawling over Sonic's body while pushing the hedgehog down onto the bed. He hovered over him just for a moment to admire the hedgehog's pretty features, as Sonic looked up at him through a sexy gaze. Knuckles then lowered himself onto the hedgehog's body, enjoying the feel of his thighs instinctively spreading open for him to wedge himself in between. He started off lightly rubbing against him as they continued to kiss, their kisses becoming more passionate, needy, and at points devolving into licks and bites.

They were both fully aroused now, and their rubbing erections drove Sonic up the wall with desire, so much so that he gripped the bed sheets and started getting more vocal, letting out soft gasps of pleasure.

"Knuckles," he started in a whisper. "I need you… I need you inside me."

Sonic squeezed Knuckles' hips with his thighs, pressing the echidna's hard member right up against his sensitive little pucker.

Knuckles couldn't react fast enough, as Sonic began shoving himself onto his cock.

"H-hey… I don't wanna hurt you."

"Just… do it. _Please_."

Having Sonic writhing and pleading underneath him this way gave Knuckles the drive he needed to penetrate him all the way through, letting the tight heat of the hedgehog's body envelop his throbbing member.

Knuckles, surprised at himself, looked down at Sonic and surveyed the hedgehog's face for any signs of discomfort.

Sonic gave him an encouraging smile and closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to just feel. "Hoh, you did it… You're inside me… It feels amazing."

Knuckles felt more confident now, a wildly handsome grin gracing his face, showing off jagged teeth and all.

"You ready for this?"

"God yes… Fuck me." The hedgehog's mouth parted in anticipation for what would come next.

That was all Knuckles needed to hear to get into overdrive; he took the initiative and began rhythmically moving in and out of Sonic's body. After a while it seemed he had found Sonic's highly erogenous area, and he was rewarded with throaty moans whenever he hit it.

Knuckles picked up the pace the closer he got to his peak, suddenly realizing how greedy he was becoming when he heard Sonic whimper in pain.

"Sonic?" He slowed down, wrapping his arms around the blue hedgehog and pulling him close to sit upright with him.

Sonic laid his head on the echidna's shoulder, trying to steady his breathing.

"It's okay… Keep going."

"I want this to feel good for both of us. Let's move together, okay?"

Sonic lifted his head to look into Knuckles' violet eyes. He'd never seen a more sincere expression on the echidna's face, prompting him to crash into his mouth for another kiss. He grabbed hold of Knuckles' shoulders, as the echidna grabbed onto his hips and they began to move in unison for their final bout before climaxing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were thoroughly exhausted by the end of it all, and they both collapsed onto the mattress still tangled in each other's arms and legs, hot semen dripping between the two of them.

Knuckles didn't know what to say, or if he should say anything at all so he just looked at Sonic's cute face, noticing how mussed up his quills had gotten during their lovemaking. He reached over to smooth them down with his mitt, then moved to caress his cheek and Sonic leaned into his touch.

"Knuckles," Sonic said after finding his voice again. "I have to be honest with you…"

Knuckles furrowed his brows, a bit worried about what Sonic was about to confess.

"I never expected you to be so sweet and gentle with me."

Knuckles' expression softened into one of relief and he smiled back at Sonic.

"Of course… Sonic, I—" he paused, thinking about how he should word what he wanted to say, "I care a lot about you… I'm sorry I haven't always shown it."

"Don't be… You've more than made up for it tonight." After that last thought, Sonic found it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier, until they finally closed of their own accord.

Knuckles, still too excited and nervous about what had just happened to fall asleep, reached for the covers and pulled them over Sonic's sleeping form.

"Sweet dreams, Sonic," he whispered, and kissed his forehead, making Sonic let out a small sigh and stir a bit, but not enough to pull him out of slumber.

Knuckles realized then that having sex had made him quite hungry, and he remembered that neither of them had eaten much for dinner. He wondered if Sonic would be hungry, too, so he decided to sneak off and get them both something to eat before the hedgehog woke up. He knew the hotel kitchen was closed for the night so he'd have to leave the building.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Knuckles was on his way back to the hotel after feeling like he'd lucked out finding a restaurant that was open late _and_ served Sonic's favorite chili dogs. As he headed towards the hotel doors, he was about to walk right passed him, but even in the dark it was hard to miss the unmistakable black and red figure that was Shadow.

"Shadow? Hey. What're you doing lurking around here at this hour?" Knuckles asked, purposefully badgering the black hedgehog.

Shadow stood with his arms crossed over his chest, staring out into the pitch black vastness of the ocean. There were no lighthouses in the distance and Shadow wasn't under the spotlight of any lamppost, making his appearance more eerie than usual.

Shadow completely forwent any form of greeting, not even bothering to face the echidna or acknowledge his question before bluntly addressing him.

"I hope you're enjoying your night with the tramp. God knows how hard it is to get him into bed a second time."


	6. Chapter 6

"Wha? What the hell are you talking about?"

Knuckles was caught off guard by the black hedgehog's backhanded remark. He wasn't sure if he had heard him correctly.

Shadow shot him a smug look.

"Please. Spare me the act. I already know you're fucking Sonic… You even went so far as to get a room. How _sweet_."

Knuckles' muzzle went red with anger and embarrassment all at once. He clenched his fists and bared his teeth, fighting the urge to lunge at Shadow.

"I hope you realize, it's all a wasted effort… this 'courting' you're doing with him. It's unnecessary. He doesn't care who's fucking him or where you do it, as long as you're willing to give him dick… that's all that matters to him. He really couldn't care less about _you_."

"What?! Who the hell do you think you are talking shit like that about Sonic?!"

That was the final straw before Knuckles snapped and went in for a punch.

Shadow dodged it and every other punch Knuckles threw at him afterward.

Knuckles had dropped the food he was bringing for Sonic on the ground, getting into full boxing mode, but Shadow was unfazed by it, as he was faster and remained calm through all his attempts.

"You better take it back before I fuckin' end you, you freak!"

"Empty threats won't do you any good. At least have something to back it up with," Shadow said coolly, continuing to dodge Knuckles' onslaught of punches.

Just when Shadow thought the echidna was giving up, Knuckles surprised him with a blow that narrowly missed his jaw, but the spikes on his knuckles still managed to graze his face, leaving two long gashes along his cheek.

Knuckles then took Shadow's momentary lapse as an opportunity to roundhouse kick him, sending the black hedgehog slamming into a nearby wall.

Knuckles paused for a moment, catching his breath and letting it sink in that he'd actually managed to one up Shadow for once, but his victory was short lived. Shadow was already up and in the blink of an eye he was at Knuckles' throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand.

Knuckles didn't understand how dangerously serious the black hedgehog was until he looked upon his crimson eyes. If they weren't already red, they were certainly ablaze with fury right now.

"Listen to me, you asinine pile of shit. _I'm_ not the one you should be directing you're anger towards."

"W-why? Why are you even here telling me this?"

"Tch, I almost feel sorry for you. You're so fucking clueless, you can't even see when you're being played."

Shadow let go of Knuckles, letting the echidna fall harshly onto the ground.

Knuckles massaged the place around his throat where Shadow had gripped him, feeling their might be bruises forming, but it was nothing compared to the ones on his ego.

"You aren't making any sense..."

"Was he not begging you to fuck him?"

The image of Sonic gasping in pleasure and pleading seductively beneath him briefly flashed through the echidna's mind. He hoped Shadow couldn't read it in his face, but it was too late.

"You see? There it is. I knew it… just like he did with _me_."

"With you? What, are you saying you… you've slept with Sonic?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Of course, he wouldn't admit that to you. Still, you'd have to be incredibly dense to not realize that slut's been around with more than a few guys."

"Shut up! Quit talking like you know him and tell me what this is all about!"

Knuckles jumped back on his feet, ready on the offensive once again.

Shadow's ears twitched, hearing the blare of a police siren approaching the cul-de-sac.

' _Fucking cops,_ ' he thought to himself, quickly gauging his options for escape. ' _I'm not sticking around here to find out what they want. Get into a scuffle with one of_ them _and they send G.U.N. agents after you like a pack of wild dogs.'_ He started skating towards the entrance of the hotel's parking garage.

"Hey! Get back here! You can't just dump shit on me like that without explaining yourself!"

Knuckles caught up to the black hedgehog but as soon as he reached out to grab him, Shadow spun around with a kick that sent the echidna crashing violently into the ground.

"Why don't you ask Sonic? I don't know why I even bothered… You're clearly delusional if you think this thing with him is going anywhere. All I can tell you is… enjoy it while it lasts." Shadow started off again, but this time he paused briefly, shooting Knuckles a sideways glance. "Oh, and one last word of advice to you, Knuckles… He _likes_ it rough."

Shadow disappeared into the blackness of the parking garage before Knuckles could even stand up again. The patrol car slowly pulled up around the cul-de-sac, and the officer in the passenger side rolled down his window.

"Hey! What's going on here? You drunk?"

Knuckles gritted his teeth, silently cursing Shadow for messing him up so badly. He got off the ground, giving the officer a glare before answering him.

"Just… tripped."

"We got a complaint, someone heard a commotion out here. There's a pretty hefty fine for disturbing the peace, so if you're done trippin' on shit you better get on your way."

Shadow watched the scene from above, sitting smugly on the edge of the hotel's rooftop. He pressed a hand to his cheek, feeling it sting and looked at his white glove now stained with his own blood.

' _Shit. He really did a number on my face…. That guy may actually be half worthy of his namesake_ ,' he finally thought.

Down below, Knuckles picked up the bag of food that he'd dropped before his scuffle with Shadow, carrying on his way completely humiliated. He reentered the hotel, stalking all the way into the elevator.

All the vile words Shadow had spoken kept replaying in his mind, and he couldn't shake them.

'… _as long as you're willing to give him dick, that's all that matters to him…that slut's been around been around with more than a few guys…'_ Shadow's pompous voice echoed mockingly in his head.

Knuckles could hardly believe it, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. After all, why would Shadow go out of his way to tell him if it wasn't true?

He dreaded every step closer he got to their room. He was pissed off and humiliated, and Shadow was gone so the only person he could get answers from was Sonic.

When he opened the door, he had been so ready to lash out and confront Sonic about everything that Shadow had told him, but all that dissipated as soon as he laid eyes on Sonic.

The blue hedgehog was sitting up on the bed with his arms around his knees, and for a split second, a forlorn look blemished the hedgehog's normally cheerful face.

Sonic's demeanor changed as soon as he heard Knuckles come in, and he jumped off the bed to greet him with a hug.

"Hey you… I'm so glad you came back…"

Knuckles was a bit surprised by this, as he never expected the hedgehog to question his leaving. Knuckles hesitantly returned the hug, then searched his face, trying to read him. "Hey yourself… Of course I came back. Why wouldn't I?"

"I thought… Never mind, I guess there was nothing to worry about."

"Not at all. But, maybe I should have left a note or something… I just didn't think you'd wake up so soon. I was hungry so I went and got something to eat… I figured you'd be, too, after…" Knuckles trailed off, handing Sonic the bag.

Sonic could hardly contain his happiness as he examined the content of the bag and retrieved two warm chili dogs.

"They might've got squished in transit," Knuckles noted.

"No way, they're perfect… Knuckles, you're seriously the best!"

He set them aside for a moment to pull Knuckles into a second embrace, but this time he reeled him in for a toe-curling kiss that somehow landed them in bed again.

"Mm… getting kinda carried away…" Sonic murmured in the midst of the kiss, unwillingly breaking it apart. "I should eat before we start that up again." He reluctantly peeled himself off of the echidna and went for his food, eagerly stuffing his mouth with the savory meat mash up.

Knuckles was able to just lay back relax, even though his mind still wasn't totally at ease. His eyes meandered over the hedgehog's body, watching him as he ate and let out small sounds that rivaled those he made out of a different kind of pleasure.

"Mmm… These are amazing!" Sonic exclaimed, beginning to devour the second chili dog.

Knuckles felt something he couldn't quite place washing over him, and he couldn't help the smile sweeping over his face. Whatever it was, it gave him a sense of resolution to his inner conflict.

' _There's no way I can take what Shadow said at face-value… I've been wrong about Sonic so many times before, and always because I trusted the words of the wrong people… It isn't fair for me to do that to him again… He's been an incredibly loyal friend to me, no matter how badly I've treated him in the past. This time, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.'_

"Hey, earth to Knux… You're spacing out on me… What're you thinking about? Worried about the Master Emerald?"

Knuckles shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle.

"No. Just enjoying the view…"

"Oh, you're good. I hope that wasn't just a corny one-liner to get me to kiss you again."

"If I say yes, will you kiss me anyway?"

"Maybe…" Sonic smirked, eyes half-lidded as he crawled over the echidna on all fours to straddle him, strategically setting himself over his groin. "But I have something better in mind."

Knuckles closed his eyes, allowing himself to just feel the moment.

Sonic quickly removed his gloves, tossing them aside and slid his hands from Knuckles' waist up to his chest and shoulders, the light friction of his movements naturally rousing them both.

Knuckles felt Sonic's hands move down to his wrists, and then his mitts being tugged off, prompting him to open his eyes again.

"What're you doing, Sonic?"

"I really want you to feel me this time…" he explained as he revealed Knuckles' true hands.

They weren't nearly as large as the mitts led people to believe, but there was a good reason for his mitts to be the size that they were; at the ends of his fingertips there were long claws that were so unlike Sonic's neatly trimmed ones, but the real surprise were the twin spikes on his knuckles that were actually protruding bones.

Knuckles tried to hold back the blush of embarrassment on his face. This was the first time he could think of anyone seeing him without his mitts on.

"Kind of scary aren't they?"

"Not at all… On the contrary… I think they're pretty sexy," Sonic admitted. He grabbed hold of Knuckles' now bare hands, guiding them up his own thighs, until he settled them on his hips. "Touch me wherever you want, however you want. Don't be shy, okay?"

Knuckles took the invitation with a bit of hesitance, thumbing his pelvis first, and working his way to grab the hedgehog's growing arousal.

Sonic leaned into his touch, at the same time feeling the echidna's hard member starting to dig into him. He swayed his hips a little, wedging himself onto the tip of Knuckles' fully erect cock. As Sonic started shoving himself further onto the shaft, Knuckles bucked his hips upwards, making him take the rest of his length in one swift motion. It hit his sweet spot instantly.

Sonic let out a gasp and moan all at once, gritting his teeth as he leaned forward with a hand on either side of Knuckles' shoulders.

"Fuck! That felt really good."

Knuckles took pleasure in watching Sonic as the hedgehog rocked himself back and forth on his cock, the sounds coming out of his mouth like music to his ears.

"Sonic…" he called out.

The hedgehog looked down fondly at the echidna before swooping in for a kiss.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When they finished, Sonic enjoyed the feel of Knuckles' cock slipping out of him, semen dripping and all, as he laid down right up against his side and the echidna wrapped an arm around him.

Knuckles looked down at his own chest, bringing his hand up to wipe the sticky substance off.

"You have a pretty powerful shot."

Sonic blushed slightly, taking Knuckles' hand in his own. What he did next surprised the echidna even more. Sonic ran his tongue over his fingers, then ducked his head onto his chest and belly to lick it.

If he didn't look so sexy while doing so, Knuckles would have been tickled by it, but instead he quietly watched him as he lapped off the remainder.

"Who would've ever guessed Sonic the hedgehog could be so damn frisky."

Sonic wiped his mouth, letting out a small laugh.

"I haven't heard that one before… I dunno, I guess I can't really help it that you turn me on."

Sonic buried his head into the crook between Knuckles' head and his shoulder.

They were comfortably silent for a moment before Knuckles boldly decided to voice his feelings. He hadn't given them a thought, just saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Sonic… I wanna do this with you all the time."

Sonic looked up questioningly at the echidna.

"I-I don't just mean the sex. I mean everything. Going out with you, dancing, whatever… Just, spending time with you. I want to be able to that with you all the time." Knuckles hesitated for a second before continuing. "What about you?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sonic searched the guardian's face as if he would find an answer on it, but nothing was coming to him. He tore his gaze away before speaking up.

"Sounds to me like, you're asking… if I wanna be your boyfriend…" Sonic said hesitantly, needing clarification.

Knuckles almost immediately regretted asking the question, taking note of the uneasiness in the hedgehog's demeanor.

"I, uh… I guess I am… But maybe it's too soon to talk about that. It was just one date after all… Forget I brought it up."

"No, it's okay. It's not like we're strangers here…" Sonic trailed off, looking back at him through sleepy eyes still uncertain of what to say.

Despite what he said, Knuckles was eager for an answer. No matter how hard he'd tried to keep Shadow's words at bay, they still persisted in the back of his mind. He couldn't rest easy until he knew how Sonic felt about him.

"Sonic, I just need to know if we want the same thing… I thought tonight might lead to something more meaningful between us… I'm not delusional for thinking that, am I?"

Sonic looked deeply into the echidna's eyes wondering what could have brought this on. He shook his head, capturing Knuckles' mouth in a reassuring kiss.

"No, of course not, Knuckles… But…"

"Oh, god, there it is… Just save it," Knuckles said, voice full of disappointment as he started to shuffle away from the hedgehog.

"No, Knuckles, hear me out," Sonic turned himself so that his body was partially over the echidna's, effectively halting his movement. "It's just... I don't know if I'm really 'boyfriend' material… That's not really the way I roll… but, if it means getting to spend more time with you… and getting to do _this_ whenever we want, then… I'm willing to give it a shot."

"Sonic, are you sure that's what you really want?"

"Yeah… I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Knuckles felt there was still some uncertainty coming from Sonic, but he accepted it nonetheless. It was a huge relief to know Shadow was wrong about one thing, at the very least.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"I can take a guess. I'm pretty ecstatic about it too," Sonic said with a wink as he slid the rest of his body over Knuckles, enjoying the feel of the echidna's silky red fur against his peach-fuzz belly. "Hoh, god… I could grind up against this body all night long."

"Hey now, don't go making promises you can't keep."

"Hm, is that a challenge?"

"Maybe…"

Sonic let out a small yelp of surprise as Knuckles flipped their positions, pinning him down on the bed instead.

"…but I kinda like it better this way," Knuckles said with a smirk.

Sonic eagerly welcomed him, parting his raised knees as the echidna sunk into him, groin against groin, leading them into another heated make-out session.

It wasn't long before they were a panting mess of tangled limbs and their eyes were too heavy to keep open. Knuckles rolled off Sonic, giving him some space, but the hedgehog snuggled up against his chest, clinging on to him like a child would cling to a stuffed animal. They both exchanged goodnights and sweet dreams before finally falling into a peaceful sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time Sonic and Knuckles checked out of the hotel the next morning, it was fairly late.

Knuckles, being an early riser, had got to the shower first but was pleasantly interrupted when Sonic snuck in after him. It didn't take much for Sonic to coerce the echidna into having steamy hot shower sex with him.

After a brief visit to the chao garden, they stood outside the hotel entrance, but knowing they'd have to depart eventually, both were uneager to go their separate ways.

"So what's your plan for today Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm going for a run first. Just heading north, you know, but it's really wherever my feet take me. Then I'm heading over to Tails' place to pay him a visit. You can come with, if you want. You _are_ one of the few people who can keep up with me."

Knuckles felt pretty good whenever Sonic would praise one of his strengths, but this time there was that implication reminding him of the one other person that could keep up with him.

"I doubt I would be able to keep up for long. Besides, as much as I'd like to go with you, I really have to get back home. Espio messaged me over an hour ago saying that Vector and Charmy would show up there if I didn't relieve him soon. You know I can't have _those_ _two_ running around my island."

Sonic let out a laugh.

"Yeah, that's a disaster waiting to happen… Guess I'll just have to come up and see you later."

"Yeah. You're welcome on my island anytime, okay? Surprise me."

"Oh I will."

On that note, neither of them cared that it was broad daylight out; they shared an embrace and kissed intimately before bidding each other farewell and heading off in different directions.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Even though Sonic inwardly felt amazing, all the extra exertion of the night affected his running. No matter how gentle Knuckles had been with him, the soreness in his body was inevitable, so he ended up cutting his run short. He ran all the way back to Tails' workshop, stopping in front of it to stretch again before heading inside.

"Ugh… maybe we overdid it just a little," Sonic muttered to himself, stretching his glutes and hamstrings.

"It always amazes me how you're able to run after getting nailed into the wall, the way you do, Sonic."

Sonic's gasp caught in his throat as he snapped his head up in the direction of the familiar voice, his fur standing on its ends when he realized how close the owner of it was standing to him. He couldn't believe how the black hedgehog had caught him so off guard.

"Did I startle you?"

Sonic gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"The hell are you doing here? You seriously need to get a life."

"And you seriously need to get over yourself. I'm not here because of you. My business here is my own."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that load of shit."

Just then, the two tailed fox burst through the door of the workshop.

"Hey! I thought I heard you Sonic. Wow, Shadow that was quick."

Sonic looked curiously at Tails, wondering what his fox friend was talking about.

"Hey Tails."

Tails smiled at the blue hedgehog before turning to Shadow.

"Were you able to pick up the rotor?" Tails asked him.

Shadow showed him the box he had been holding and handed it over to the fox.

"Brand new. Told you it'd be quicker if I got it myself."

"Awesome. Now I'll have your bike fixed in no time," Tails exclaimed.

"His bike? You mean that old _stolen_ motorcycle?" Sonic questioned.

"Uhh, Sonic… I thought we agreed not to dwell on things like that. You know Shadow was in a tough spot back then. He's not like that anymore… Right Shadow?"

Shadow merely crossed his arms in front of his chest rolling his eyes at the fox.

"Well, anyway, he brought it to me because it was in need of some serious repairs. The engine needed a whole new replacement part and I told him it might take a while since I'd have to put in a special order for it, but he said he'd get it to me as soon as this morning. Lo and behold, he was right!"

Sonic looked suspiciously over at the black hedgehog, still not believing his charade for a second.

"Is that so? One would think Shadow of all people would be able to fix a simple motorcycle engine himself. You know, ultimate life-form and all."

Shadow humored Sonic with a response.

"That may be true, but why get my hands dirty when I can pay a real mechanic to do it for me? He wasn't exactly my first choice but some people are out of commission at the moment. Maybe _you_ just don't have faith in your friend's abilities."

Tails was a little surprised by the accusation, and was ready to jump in defense of his best friend, but Sonic beat him to it.

"Don't try to spin this around on me like that. There's no need for you to pester Tails over it and you know it."

"Sonic, I told Shadow I'd be happy to fix it for him," Tails chimed in quietly, but no one seemed to hear him.

"What is it that I know then Sonic?" Shadow egged on. "What other reason would I have for coming here?"

Sonic knew what Shadow wanted him to say, but he wouldn't give in, not in front of Tails. Miles 'Tails' Prower, like a little brother to Sonic, always looked up to him for being the hero, chaste and carefree. He couldn't tarnish that image for him, and he certainly wouldn't do it to indulge Shadow's sick need to spite him.

"That's what I wanna know," Sonic said, almost inaudibly. He unclenched his fists, turning towards workshop. "Tails, I'm going upstairs to grab a bite."

"Okay… I'll come up when I'm finished with the bike. It'll only be a little while now, Shadow, so if you wanna stick around and wait, you can hang out upstairs too."

"I'll accept the invitation. Only because I don't have anything else pending at the moment."

At this Sonic stopped in his tracks, and turned around. "What? No! Tails, what is it with you being all chummy with him all of a sudden?"

"Huh? _Sonic_ ," Tails started sternly. "I think the real question here is why you're being so vindictive all of sudden. It isn't like you."

Sonic let out a frustrated sigh, seeing things from Tails' perspective. It wasn't like the fox had any idea why he was being so skeptical of Shadow's intentions.

"You're right. Guess I am being a little unfair," he said, lying through his teeth. He headed upstairs, not waiting for Shadow to come up after him.

"I have some fresh tea and cookies set out, so you guys help yourselves," Tails called out, but both hedgehogs had disappeared into the house before he could finish.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic raided the fridge taking out ingredients that didn't even seem like they'd palate well together, all while acting like Shadow wasn't even there.

Shadow sat on a cozy armchair across the house, seeing as the kitchen, dining and living area were all one big room, he could clearly see Sonic as the blue hedgehog scrambled about the kitchen.

"Oh gross, Tails… when was the last time you cleaned out your fridge?" he said to no one in particular.

He threw out whatever had caused him disgust, and made several different types of sandwiches, cutting them into quarters to sample a bit of each.

When he was finished he left out the rest for Tails, and laid belly down on the couch, grabbing the remote to flip through TV channels.

After a good while, the sound of an empty teacup loudly hitting the coffee table rattled the dishes, making Sonic flinch in the otherwise quiet room.

Sonic contemplated ignoring Shadow's obvious call for attention, but he had pretty much run out of patience. Sonic sat up on the edge of his seat.

"What's your problem?" Sonic snapped.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm not the one banging shit on tables. Quit playing games and tell me why you're really here, Shadow."

"Is my bike not in need of repairs? Contrary to what you believe, your presence and my presence here are purely coincidental. How was I supposed to know you were going to come back here today? I was under the impression you'd still be whoring yourself off to the echidna. What, was his cock not all that it's cracked up to be? I hear it's supposed to be to this abnormal, eighth wonder of the world, sex-god type pleasure rocket."

"Oh, shut up!" Sonic hated how unabashed the black hedgehog was talking about these sorts of things.

"I'm genuinely curious, how _was_ your night with Knuckles?"

"Fuck if I'm gonna tell you… That's none of your business."

Sonic stood up to leave, but froze in place when he felt a hand come around his waist from behind, fingers riding dangerously low on his belly, while another hand gripped one of his arms.

"These little bitch fits of yours are getting old, Sonic."

Sonic tried his best to remain unaffected as Shadow surreptitiously slid his fingers lower, thumbing the small bulge over his fur. His knees were going weak and it took all of his willpower to stifle a moan that threatened to escape through his parted mouth.

"Shadow," he said almost breathlessly. "I'm only going to say this once so you better get it through your thick head… Whatever _fucked_ _up_ thing we had between us is _over_ now." With that, Sonic tore himself away from Shadow's grip, and spun around to face him. "Got it?! It _can't_ happen anymore."

"Hm… Is that so…. I think I see what's going on now. Knuckles wants to tie you down and make you his _bitch_. Come on, Sonic. You know that's not who you are."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at him.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Fine. Believe what you want to believe…" Shadow shrugged, as he approached Sonic, getting uncomfortably close to his face. "But you know there'll always be someone out there who's willing to fuck you, no strings attached..."

Sonic raised his hand up to Shadow's chest, ready to push him away if he got any closer, but he found himself gripping onto the white fur instead.

"..and you won't be able to resist the temptation forever."

Sonic watched intently as Shadow spoke those last words, his muzzle starting to brush gently against his own.

"Shit!" he shouted, pushing the black hedgehog away, feeling as if he'd just come out of a hypnotic trance. He turned on his heel, leaving Shadow alone without another word.

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, feeling pretty confident in his assertions.

"It's just a matter of time, Sonic."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic almost appeared to have warped down to workshop portion of Tails' house, as evident by the fox's startled yelp.

"Sonic! You scared me. What's the rush?"

Sonic opened and closed several storage lockers, without answering Tails until he found what he was looking for.

"Tails, I'm really sorry. I have to go. I'll come visit again soon, okay? When you're a little less busy. How's this ex-gear running, is it in good shape?"

"Oh, uh… It should be. I tuned them all up before putting them in storage."

"Good. I'll see you around then, buddy."

Before Tails could say goodbye, Sonic was out the door, tossing the board in front of himself before hopping on and taking to the sky.


	8. Chapter 8

The blue blur sailed out of a trail of wispy clouds, following the wind like a current in the sky. He howled and whooped as he twirled through the air, practically dancing in the sky, doing flips and tricks on his board as he descended onto Angel Island.

Sonic landed near the emerald's shrine, and jumped off his gear, looking around for any sign of the guardian. He wanted to catch the echidna off guard and surprise him.

Seeing no sign of him, Sonic set aside his board and ran silently up the steps of the shrine. Once he reached the altar, he stepped around the Master Emerald, palming the glowing gem with a smirk plastered on his muzzle.

"He's not even here. Heh, it's no wonder why this rock gets stolen. I could've taken it five times over by now," he said confidently.

At that same moment, he felt something catch his tail and grab his belly from behind, in much the same manner that Shadow had earlier, sending a chill down his back. That seemed to be happening to him a lot lately.

He cautiously turned his head to see his captor, relieved to see that it was none other than Knuckles, with a brow raised and the corner of his mouth turned up in the cockiest smirk.

"You were saying?"

Sonic let out a nervous laugh, making a one-eighty while still in Knuckles' grasp so the echidna's hand was resting on his hip.

"What? Oh, you heard that? I was just kidding; I was… testing you to see if you were nearby that's all… And you passed! But it's not like I think you're incompetent or anything. I mean I knew you'd show up if I was a real thief."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes at this.

"So you tested me because you think I'm incompetent?"

"No! I said you're _not_. Definitely not," Sonic reaffirmed, knowing how seriously the echidna took his duties as guardian.

Knuckles let out a low laugh, perplexing his newfound boyfriend.

"What?"

"I'm just messing with you, Sonic."

"You... I thought you were serious. I didn't wanna start a fight again. Jerk."

"Shut up and get over here," Knuckles said reeling Sonic in for a kiss.

When they broke off the kiss, Knuckles spoke up again as he led them to sit down on the top step of the shrine.

"You're lucky you're my boyfriend now… If things were different between us, I would've pummeled you into the ground."

"Really? Well now that you mention it, I honestly wouldn't be opposed to you _pummeling_ me into anything… As a matter of fact, I doubt I'd put up much of a fight," Sonic said suggestively.

Knuckles' face went pink, when he realized what Sonic was hinting at. Even though they had been intimate three times in just the past day and half, Knuckles was still getting used to seeing this side of the hedgehog. He couldn't believe how easily Sonic could turn him on.

Sonic noticed this and reached out to caress his face, leaning in to kiss his cheek sweetly. He swept one of Knuckles' dreadlocks off of his shoulder to kiss and nip at the sensitive area around it.

"I missed you," Knuckles said, impulsively.

Sonic paused what he was doing for a moment, looking up at Knuckles with a puzzled expression.

"Missed me? It's only been a few hours since we saw each other."

"I know, but… you kinda spoiled me last night."

Sonic pondered it for a moment, beginning to understand now how rare it must have been for Knuckles, who'd been alone most of his life, to spend a lot of time with someone when it didn't involve duties or saving the planet. He felt pretty lucky to have been that person for him.

"In that case... let me spoil you some more, Knuckles."

Sonic moved in front of the guardian, just a step below him, and placed a hand on each of the echidna's thighs, kneeling down in between them.

Sonic started off trailing kisses down Knuckles' belly, stimulating his body in areas the echidna had no idea could be so receptive to pleasure.

Knuckles let out a moan when he felt Sonic's tongue flick over the tip of his cock. He was already half-hard and poking out through his fur. He reached his hand out, gently tugging on Sonic's ear.

"Sonic… Wh-What're you doing?"

The hedgehog stopped and laid his head on the side of Knuckles' thigh, looking up at him with those sultry half-lidded eyes that drove the echidna mad with desire.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to help you out with this," he answered, emphasizing his point by massaging him with his hand.

"I know that… but," Knuckles clenched his eyes shut for a second finding it increasingly difficult to refrain from ignoring everything and just enjoy whatever Sonic wanted to do to him. "Augh… Sonic… I'm sorry. We can't do this here…"

Sonic's hand slowly retreated, and he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"This is… sacred ground," Knuckles began explaining. "This sort of thing isn't allowed here."

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says nobody really… But, it's written in the ancient runes here in the shrine." He pointed his mitt towards a dilapidated pillar with some symbols on it that Sonic couldn't read.

"So, what happens if we do?"

"I have no idea… but if there's a rule against it, there must be a good reason for it. I'd rather not take any chances."

"Okay then… Let's get away from the shrine."

"Yeah… but it can only be for a short while."

Sonic nodded and took Knuckles' outstretched hand as the echidna stood up, bringing the hedgehog up with him. Then, Knuckles surprised him when he literally swept him off his feet and carried him across his torso, keeping him close to his chest.

"Hang on to me."

Sonic did as he was told, putting an arm around his shoulders before Knuckles leapt into the air and glided from the top of the shrine, far into the dense forest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What is this place?" Sonic asked as they approached a small house-like structure built into the side of a grassy mound.

It was simple, with a wooden door entrance, a large window, and a smoking chimney sticking out from the top of the mound.

Knuckles let Sonic down on his feet.

"It's my burrow," he answered simply, picking up a key from under a boulder near the entrance.

"Your burrow? All this time you had a place of your own and you never told anyone? I always thought you slept at the shrine."

"I do. But I need a place for shelter whenever the weather is less than agreeable. Other than that, I use it mainly for storage. Or for the occasion that I cook. Sonic, you didn't really think I was that wild to not have any type of shelter, did you?"

Knuckles unlocked the door and led Sonic inside.

"I dunno, I guess I just assumed you were a live-off-the-land, weather-the-storm kind of guy."

Sonic placed his hands on his hips as he surveyed the burrow's quaint interior.

Upon entering, he was immediately greeted by the sight of comfy cushioned couch with several pillows and blankets strewn about it, loads of shelves of books and what could only be treasures Knuckles had collected from around the world; towards the center of the burrow there was a table with stacks of old newspapers, and behind that, a kitchen with a fireplace that doubled as a furnace and a place for cooking. A door off to the side led to a small bathroom, which was the only other room in the house.

"Wow, what a great little place. It's got a real homey charm to it."

"Thanks. It's too bad I don't get much use out of it."

"Oh, you will now… I can see us spending a lot of time together here."

Knuckles smiled at him, entertaining the thought for a moment before remembering something and heading into the kitchen.

"Go ahead and make yourself at home, Sonic. I need to check on something."

Sonic followed, meandering over to sit on top of the table, and sniffed the air when he caught a whiff of a spicy aroma.

"Mm, what's that you're cooking? It's making my mouth water and I'm not even hungry."

"It's a spicy slow-cooked mushroom stew. I have to get creative with all the mushrooms around the island. They grow like crazy." Knuckles removed the lid of the simmering pot to stir it. "Looks like it'll ready soon, if you want to join me for dinner."

"Sure, I'd love that."

While Knuckles was occupied, Sonic absentmindedly sifted through the newspapers strewn about the table. He stopped when he came across a page that had been folded up. It framed a picture of himself from an interview sometime after their battle against the metal dragon on the airship.

"Hey… I remember this," Sonic said distantly.

Upon unfolding the article he realized the picture was one of Shadow and himself. It was apparent that the black hedgehog had been cropped out by the folds intentionally.

Knuckles was at the cupboard pulling out dishes, and turned his attention to the hedgehog.

"Remember what?"

"This. I can't believe you kept it." Sonic held up the article for a moment to show him. "It's all neat and folded up on _my_ face. You must have had it _bad_ for me, even then," Sonic teased.

Knuckles rolled his eyes, but shrugged it off playfully. "It's a good picture of you. Can't say the same for Shadow."

"Heh. You know what's weird? I never understood how the journalist even got him to do an interview with me. He didn't have any memory from before he came back, so the whole thing from his perspective was pretty pointless. Still, at the time, Shadow was… surprisingly civil…"

Sonic trailed off as he got a better look at the photo. His eyes lingered on Shadow's cross-armed figure; the black hedgehog hadn't even bothered to face the camera, only giving the photographer a profile of a frown.

Knuckles noticed Sonic staring at the picture of Shadow, a slight twinge of jealousy suddenly overcoming him.

"Yeah well, he's still a dick," he said seriously, his tone laced with annoyance.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he isn't. I just mean he had a moment back then…"

Knuckles watched him intently as he waited for him to continue. He wondered if Sonic would shed some light on the nature of his relationship with the black hedgehog.

Sonic continued hesitantly. It was a sore subject for him, and he was sure Knuckles would be upset by it, so he opted for a simple explanation.

"He... he let me see this side of him that I'm sure he hasn't shown to a lot of other people. I was actually starting to think he was coming around."

"Really? I don't think a guy like him ever stops being an asshole."

"Yeah, maybe... Still, I couldn't help thinking there was some hope left for him, you know? I'd rather have him as an ally than an enemy. I mean, it was kind of the same way with you and look how that turned out."

Knuckles scoffed and sent a glare in his direction. He had the sudden urge to get the truth out of Sonic, but stopped himself in favor of keeping the peace.

"Sonic… I know you and I weren't always on the best terms, but… don't ever compare _him_ to me."

Sonic hadn't expected such a serious response from the echidna. He quickly refolded the newspaper page and hopped off the table to put his arms around the guardian.

"Know what, you're right, Knux. You might have been misguided, but you were never… like him. Com'on."

Sonic grabbed his wrist, led him over to the couch, and gently shoved him down to take a seat.

"Sonic—"

"Shh…" He slid a knee on either side of Knuckles' lap, trapping him for an onslaught of passionate kisses. "Forget about everything else. The only thing that matters right now is _you_ and _me_. And you have something I want."

Sonic's hand trailed down Knuckles' chest and belly, down to his groin where he palmed and rubbed until he made him moan.

"Mhm... You really wanna blow me?"

"Only if you want me to…"

"I do… but I also really wanna fuck you."

"Whatever you want. Fuck _me_ , fuck my mouth. Just shoot it all into me. It's all you, baby," Sonic proposed, in a throaty, sex-laden voice.

From this point on, their exchange was relegated to a muddle of curses and moans and dirty whispers, and they both ended up a blazing, panting mess.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I should get going back to the shrine, Sonic," Knuckles announced as he collected their empty dishes after dinner. He took them over to a washtub in the sink.

Sonic shot him an annoyed look, pulling a blanket over himself getting comfortable on the couch.

"D'you really have to?"

"Yes, I really have to… You know I can't stay away for very long."

"You've done it before… Besides when was the last time there was an actual threat around here? If you haven't noticed, it's been really quiet lately."

"I know… But still, it's my job. I can't always hand it off to someone else or stash the Master Emerald somewhere. It needs to be in its rightful place, with me watching over it."

Sonic let out a sigh, sinking down into the couch cushions.

"Fine. I get it. Duty calls. I could use a nap anyhow."

"Yeah, of course. Stay as long as you want," Knuckles offered, pausing to look out the window on his way to the door.

The burrow was at the perfect vantage point so that Knuckles could see the top of the Master Emerald's shrine, the gleaming gem appearing to sparkle brighter in the light of the evening sun.

"Thanks. Think I might crash here tonight," Sonic yawned. "See you later then…"

"See you."

Sonic shut his eyes and waited to hear the door open, surprised when Knuckles practically leapt on top of him.

"Oompf! What the? I thought you were leaving."

"I couldn't resist. I'll stay with you 'til you fall asleep, okay?"

Sonic smiled and responded by leaning forward to kiss the tip of the echidna's petite nose.

"You big softie. Get in here."

He readjusted himself to accommodate Knuckles on the couch with him, positioning himself so his head rested on the echidna's chest.

Knuckles stroked Sonic's ear, even after the hedgehog's breathing had steadied, signaling that he was probably fast asleep. All that was left for the guardian to do was to reflect on the past few days, and how much things had changed between them. Just a few days ago he couldn't have imagined leaving his post to spend time alone with Sonic, but now he felt it was the best choice he'd ever made, and he had no regrets. He felt like there were no words to express what he felt like at the moment.

Except, maybe a few.

"Sonic," he spoke the name tenderly. " _I love you, Sonic the Hedgehog_."

It felt good to say the words out loud, even if they'd fallen on deaf ears.

Or, so he thought.

Sonic was in a state of restfulness, while not fully awake, he still wasn't fully asleep either. His eyes snapped halfway open and he tensed up, hearing the declaration. He could hardly believe it, he thought he must've dreamt it. He wanted to chalk it up to being half asleep, but deep down he knew the guardian was falling hard for him. And perhaps most frightening of all, was that it made him question his own feelings.


	9. Chapter 9

Knuckles was one hair short of planning a stakeout outside of Tail's workshop.

He'd been pacing around the emerald's shrine for the umpteenth night in a row, unable to fully relax since Sonic seemingly went AWOL after their evening together in his burrow. Knuckles had left only after Sonic had fallen asleep, as promised, but the next morning Sonic was gone without a trace. He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye.

The same thoughts that had been plaguing him for days swarmed around his head. Could Sonic have been upset over something? That didn't make sense, seeing how the hedgehog had almost literally begged him to stay. Perhaps he was bothered by the fact that Knuckles had chosen to go back to the shrine. Every time he thought about it, the guardian came to the same conclusion. He refused to believe Sonic would be that petty.

A more grim thought, and perhaps more plausible was that he was in some sort of trouble. Knuckles had repeatedly tried contacting Tails, even paying his workshop a visit, but the fox boy had been just as elusive as Sonic. He shook that one off, thinking there was no way the crazy doctor had managed a scheme the duo couldn't thwart on their own. Nothing unusual had cropped up on his radar anyhow.

Worst of all was the thought brought on by his more cynical nature, and it was the one that seemed to prevail. That seed of doubt Shadow had planted had grown intensely over the course of Sonic's absence. Now Shadow's accusations of the blue hedgehog's promiscuity were seeming less farfetched, and Knuckles couldn't help but feel an inane possessiveness over his missing boyfriend.

The guardian stopped pacing, turning to Master Emerald with a frustrated sigh.

"There has to be something else I can do… I can't take this anymore…" He raised his palms over the Emerald, its ethereal glow illuminating the shrine with a brightness rivaling that of the moon. "I need answers… I need to know where Sonic is…"

Knuckles shut his eyes, his connection to the ancient relic allowing him to sense the seven Chaos Emeralds. He felt their reverberations pinging from all different locations, meaning they were all still scattered throughout the planet. It seemed they were all stationary, all except for one. He gasped as his eyes shot open, silently thanking the Master Emerald for its insight.

Without giving it a second thought, Knuckles set off to follow the trail of the moving chaos emerald, feeling this could be the best lead he'd had in days to finding his boyfriend's whereabouts.

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The trail led the echidna to another large metro area not far from Angel Island, so he wasn't too concerned about leaving his post unattended. Knuckles was surprised to find that even though it was late at night, the city was still very much awake, lit up by the neon signs of the many bars, casinos, and nightclubs around town. It seemed just like the kind of place Sonic would love to run around at nighttime.

After meandering for a while, Knuckles began picking up strong reverberations coming from inside one of the bars, but as soon as he got closer to it, it seemed to vanish. It wasn't gone completely however, it had just gotten fainter, meaning it was still in the city and he needed to keep on its heels. The quickness of its movement reassured him that it had to be Sonic holding onto the emerald.

A few buildings later, Knuckles found himself in front of high-rise apartment complex. He took no issue in scaling up the side of the building, occasionally jumping from a balcony or a ledge until he reached the rooftop. The sensations he was getting were strongest up here, and he proceeded cautiously so as to not alert anyone of his presence.

A short distance away, he spotted what was clearly the silhouette of two hedgehogs seemingly engaged in something rather intimate. His pulse increased as he neared them, fearing his worst suspicions were coming true. He kept himself out of sight by hiding behind one of the building's large air handlers, peeking around it for a better look. He focused his eyes on the two hedgehogs, heart wavering between fury and disappointment when those unmistakable black and red quills became apparent.

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In the middle of an increasingly heated kiss, Shadow was unexpectedly shoved away by the other hedgehog.

"What is it now?" the black hedgehog asked, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"Geez, would you slow down? My head's still spinning... I feel like I might puke. Ugh, didn't I tell you not to use that power?!"

Shadow didn't seem to care, cracking a half smirk while sliding his hand up the other hedgehog's thigh.

"Warping shouldn't affect you that way... You just had _way_ too much to drink. I knew you wouldn't be able to hold your liquor, but you just couldn't admit you're a total lightweight, could you? It's okay, though…" he leaned in, easing him into another kiss, then resumed his position over him, whispering in his ear. " _I'll make it all go away, Silver._ "

Shadow continued about his exploration of the silver hedgehog's body until he was pushed away again.

"Ugh, this is so uncomfortable! I thought you were gonna take me to your apartment!"

"This is my apartment. Rooftop still counts."

"Stop screwing around. You wanna fuck? Do me on a bed."

Shadow humphed in amusement, completely unfazed by Silver's whining.

"My bed will be destroyed with the way I want to thrash you."

"Hoh great. That's so fucking flattering," he retorted sarcastically, at the same time noticing movement out of the corner of his eye. Silver didn't wait a second, using his psychokinetic power to lift a lawn chair that had been left out, throwing it in Knuckles' direction.

The echidna impulsively punched the chair before it landed on him, breaking it in the air.

"What the? Who's there?" Silver shouted, and Shadow made an immediate dash towards the intruder.

Knuckles realized his mistake a moment too late. He started to run away but Shadow caught him before he made the jump off the roof. He flung the echidna against an air duct, keeping him pinned against it by his throat.

"Hm. I never imagined _you_ to be the voyeuristic type," Shadow remarked.

"Shut the hell up," Knuckles retorted, struggling to remove Shadow's stifling grip on him.

Silver cautiously approached.

"You know this creep, Shadow?"

"Unfortunately. We're well acquainted. But I can't imagine what reason he has for being here."

"Let go of me and I'll tell you!"

Shadow shot Silver a glance, and Silver shrugged. The black hedgehog was genuinely curious to know why the echidna was there, or how he'd even managed to find him, so he removed his grip and backed off.

"Alright then. Talk," Shadow commanded.

"Just for the record, I'm not in the least bit interested in _you_ so get the hell over yourself _…_ I was following the trail of a Chaos Emerald."

" _My_ Chaos Emerald? What business do you have with it?"

"Yours? First of all, the Chaos Emeralds don't belong to anyone. And secondly, I had no idea you still held on to one of them!"

"Of course I do. I can't induce a Chaos Control without it… And more importantly, no one can gather all seven without trying to get through me, first."

Knuckles' eyes widened, surprised Shadow had a legitimate reason for holding onto an emerald.

"Whatever. It was an honest mistake… I was looking for someone else."

"I know. You were looking for _Sonic_ … He's probably trying to get away from you. You poor delusional sap."

Shadow shook his head mockingly, knowing it would get a rise out of Knuckles.

Knuckles tried to not let it affect him, but deep down it really hurt to think it could be true.

"Shadow… can you be honest for once and tell me if you've seen him?"

"Maybe I have…" Shadow said suggestively.

"Tch."

Knuckles clenched his fists, but knowing Shadow, he was probably just bluffing. Even if he wasn't, Knuckles knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of him. He finally turned his attention to the unfamiliar hedgehog. Looking at him now, the fair hedgehog reminded him so much of Sonic. He was cute like him, but his build was slimmer and taller, and his appearance was more exotic. He could certainly see why Shadow was attracted to him.

"I'll get out of your hair now. Sorry… for the interruption…?"

"Silver," he filled in for the guardian.

"Silver..."

Knuckles walked to the ledge of the roof, pausing to announce one final thought.

"To be completely honest, Silver, I might have done you a favor. If I were you, I wouldn't be wasting my time with Shadow."

With that, Knuckles jumped off the roof, gliding into the dark street below.

Silver finally turned to Shadow.

"Well that was weird. But you know what, Shadow? I think he might have been right about something."

" _What_?" Shadow realized what Silver was getting at when he started to walk away. "Hey!"

Silver had begun trudging towards the ledge, ready to jump down to the fire escape. Without turning around, Silver sent a wave from his palm that stopped Shadow in his tracks.

"Don't bother!"

"Fucking whiny bitch!" Shadow shouted after him. He decided to stay put, making a mental note to deal with Silver another time. But he wasn't letting Knuckles off easy for that insult. If he didn't hate him before now, tonight's encounter had certainly tipped him over the edge.

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It was early evening the next day, and Knuckles had laid down on his back at the top steps of his shrine. He shut his eyes and had begun to doze off when he suddenly felt a body straddling him.

His eyes shot open and his breath caught in his throat from the surprise.

"Sonic!"

"Miss me?"

Sonic leaned forward, kissing Knuckles sweetly. It wasn't long before Sonic started getting friskier with his body.

Knuckles allowed himself to enjoy it for a moment before pushing the hedgehog back to sit up.

"Hey wait minute… Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

Sonic looked at him curiously.

"For what?"

Knuckles gave him a look of disbelief.

"You've been gone for weeks. Where've you been?"

"Uhh, Knux, can't it wait? I kinda just want to—"

" _No_ , it can't."

Sonic furrowed his brows, annoyed at Knuckles for being so pissy.

"Tails and I got caught up in a bit of trouble with Eggman," Sonic admitted.

"What? Why didn't you guys tell me?!"

"We would have, but it was a time-sensitive kind of thing… And anyway, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle by ourselves. We kicked Eggman into next week, as usual," Sonic explained, a self-satisfied grin spreading across his face.

Knuckles didn't return the smile or his enthusiasm. He tried to process it, not sure how to feel about being excluded from an important mission. It wasn't the first time he hadn't taken part in their hero work, but now that they were boyfriends, he thought he should have at least been informed.

"What?" Sonic asked, sensing that something was wrong with his boyfriend. "I know I make it sound easy, but it's Eggman... He always puts up a challenge. I thought you'd be a little more proud of us."

"I am, Sonic. But, you were gone for almost two weeks… You could have been in real danger and I would've never been the wiser."

"Oh, well no. _That_ all went down in just a couple of days…"

Knuckles was becoming more furious the longer Sonic tried to explain himself.

"A couple of days? Then where were you the rest of the time? And where was Tails? I tried contacting him and visiting his workshop, but he was gone as well."

"I dunno… I guess that battle took a lot out of him. I think he might have gone off on vacation."

"So you were on your own?"

"Yeah… just running around. I needed a bit of a breather, too."

Knuckles shook his head, still unable to make sense of Sonic's attitude right now.

"That's fine and all, but was it really hard to tell me that? I have a means of communication, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh, right. Guess I did. You satisfied now so we can get back to this?" Sonic made a move to kiss Knuckles, but the echidna caught his shoulders, keeping him firmly away.

His violet eyes bore into Sonic's emerald ones, looking for any signs of wavering. He was finding it difficult to believe his story.

"Seriously, what's your deal right now?" Sonic was effectively peeved now. He shook himself out of Knuckles' grasp and stood up.

Knuckles followed suit, backing Sonic up against a pillar with his next words.

"What's my deal? Are you kidding me? You think you can just disappear for days on end without telling me and then just show up here when you remember you have a boyfriend!? Then you have the audacity to brush it off and hope you can fuck me into forgetting everything!"

Sonic was taken aback by the unexpected outburst. He still failed to see what he had done wrong.

"Calm down, what the hell are you mad about? You want me to apologize? Geez, I'm sorry I didn't call you."

Knuckles finally let out everything he'd been keeping bottled up since their relationship started.

"No, it's more than just that, Sonic! You come to me with this bullshit story when I've known from the beginning that you like to sleep around… God, you've even slept with Shadow of all people!"

Sonic's eyes went wide, bewildered by the accusation.

"How do you even—" He scoffed trying to process everything he was hearing. "That's what you think? You think I've been cheating on you?!"

"So you don't deny that you'll sleep with anyone who'll offer to fuck you?"

"Knuckles… You have no idea what you're talking about! Look, it's true that I haven't been very modest about that in the past, but that doesn't mean I'd go around cheating on you!"

Knuckles shook his head, finding it difficult to trust Sonic's words, much like he used to.

"You don't believe me...? Fine."

Sonic brushed past Knuckles, rushing down the steps.

Knuckles went after him grabbing one of his arms brutally with one of his huge mitts.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere! As long as it's away from you!" Sonic blurted out.

"We aren't done here!"

" _I am_! I'm not gonna stand here and listen to you making me out to be a slut. You can talk to me when you aren't being a totally insufferable dickhole!"

This rattled Knuckles enough to make him loosen his grip, allowing Sonic to yank himself free.

Before he started running, Sonic took a drawstring pouch out from between his quills.

"Here!" he exclaimed sharply, tossing the pouch at Knuckles' face without warning. "I brought you a present!"

Sonic sped away before Knuckles could get another word in.

It took him a minute to process everything that had happened. As it started to sink in, Knuckles realized he might have overreacted. He was beginning to wish he hadn't lost his composure so easily. He picked the abandoned pouch off the ground, pulling its strings open to dispense its contents into his open palm. Out of it fell about a dozen intricately designed silver rings and a folded up piece of parchment paper. Knuckles' hand began to tremble as he read the note.

 _Dear Knuckles,_

 _I never thought I'd like having a boyfriend before, but you've made it really easy for me change my mind about that. It's kind of weird and fun at the same time. While running around I keep finding things that remind me of you, so I end up thinking a lot about you. I guess, absence really does make the heart grow fonder? Anyway, when I saw these handmade dreadlock rings, I knew I had to get 'em for your pretty red locks! I hope you like 'em!_

 _I know it'll be a while by the time I give this to you, but when I spent the night at your place I heard you tell me you loved me. It was hard to swallow at first, but it's all I've been thinking about since I left. The longer I've thought about it, the more I've realized, I feel the same way. I wanted to tell you, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I figured it'd be easier if I wrote it down. So here goes: I love you too, Knuckles._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Sonic the Hedgehog_

Below his signature there was a charmingly childish drawing of their heads facing each other with their noses touching and above them a heart with an 'S+K' written in the middle. Sonic had pointed out the fact that he couldn't draw with an arrow.

Knuckles was frozen in place. He stared at the note in shock, eyes glossing over with tears that threatened to spill over his cheeks. His mind went blank for a moment, as he returned everything to the pouch, ran up the steps of his shrine and punched the Master Emerald, shattering it into pieces. The island rumbled as it began its descent into the ocean below.

"God, I'm so fucking stupid! I messed up so bad!"

Knuckles ran off towards the edge of the island. He knew Sonic was probably halfway across the country by now, especially if he was using his gear, but it didn't matter. He needed to find him and set things right again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic ended up in a city not far from the island. He wasn't in the mood to run around town, but he also didn't want to sit around and mope either. He walked around a bit, hoping to find something that would capture his interest.

As he walked he tried not to think about how ready he'd been to commit himself to his relationship with Knuckles, only to return to such unfair treatment, but it kept circling around in his head. He wished he could just be numb to the entire situation.

Sonic eventually walked by a nightclub that would be opening soon, and figured that a drink and some dancing might be a good distraction for a while. He was sure he could sweet talk some older guy into buying him a drink. A line had already begun to form, so he queued up to wait for the club to open.

While waiting, Sonic was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the motorcycle zipping through traffic down the street.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the nightclub, it didn't take long for Sonic to attract the attention of a stranger with his flirtatious dancing.

A handsome eagle approached him, buff, sharp-eyed and a bit taller than Sonic; he looked to be old enough to buy him a drink.

"Hey cutie, mind if I dance with you?"

Sonic shifted his weight, placing a hand on his hip.

"Sure, but it'll cost you."

"Name it."

"A drink. Something with a real kick to it. Get me that and I'm yours for the next couple minutes."

"Sold," the eagle answered in deep, gravelly voice.

Sonic raised his hands above his head, allowing the eagle to place his hands on his waist. He wasted no time in getting up close and personal with the dancing hedgehog.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the dance, the eagle thanked Sonic, and bought him his drink, leaving him alone to enjoy it at the bar.

Sonic finished it off too quickly for his liking and couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips, still feeling pretty terrible about everything that had happened earlier. Dancing had only been a distraction while it lasted. He stared into the empty glass, wondering how much he'd have to drink before he could forget it all.

Suddenly, he felt a hand brush up against his lower back, startling him, and at first he thought it might be the eagle coming to ask him for another dance, but when he looked up, it was Shadow's crimson-eyed gaze that met his.

"Shadow? What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing… Where's your date? Don't you have a boyfriend now?"

Shadow knew Knuckles was nowhere to be found, but he wanted an explanation from Sonic himself.

"You know what, Shadow… I'm not even sure I have a boyfriend anymore," Sonic shrugged it off, eyes shining. He hated being vulnerable in front of anyone, much less in front Shadow, but at this point he really didn't care.

"That so?"

"Yeah… You wanna do something about it?"

"I could get you another drink… Or…" Shadow cupped Sonic's cheek in his hand, looking deeply into his eyes, as if asking for permission before leaning in to kiss him. To his surprise, Sonic didn't protest at all.

Sonic shut his eyes, welcoming the kiss, and reciprocated it fiercely.

A couple minutes into making out, Sonic stopped for air, and he was already craving something more.

"Hey. Can we take this somewhere else?"

Shadow gave him a half nod.

"You read my mind… Com'on, you can hop on the back of my bike. I'll take you home with me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic was no stranger to Shadow's apartment. He'd been in it for a similar reason once before. From what he understood, G.U.N. had provided him with the apartment as repayment for all the grief they had caused him, and probably for his very existence, but Shadow believed it to be more of a way for the organization to keep tabs on him in case he ever decided to go rogue again.

Looking around it now, not much had changed since the last time Sonic was there. It was still as pristine as ever, likely because Shadow spent so little time in it.

"Do you need a drink or anything?" Shadow asked after dead-bolting the door.

"Oh, _now_ you're trying to be a gentleman? Save it. You know what I need."

Sonic grabbed a fistful of Shadow's chest fur to reel him in for a lip crushing kiss.

Shadow didn't waste a second in moving things along. He lifted Sonic off his feet, allowing for him to wrap his legs around his waist.

"Mmhm… take me t'bed," was all Sonic could muster in between rough, tongue-scraping kisses.

"Gladly."

Shadow carried the younger hedgehog into his bedroom, letting him flop backwards onto the mattress before crawling over him.

Sonic eagerly spread his legs open for Shadow to lay between.

"Not even putting up a fight? Sex with you might get dull, Sonic. I've always fantasized about Chaos Controlling you into submission, but I guess that won't be necessary with the way you're going."

Shadow took Sonic's hands by the wrists, pinning them to the mattress on either side of his head. His eyes scanned over his body in this position with a lustful gaze.

"You're so thirsty for my dick aren't you? I knew the echidna would never be able to satisfy—"

"God, stop talking! You just love to hear yourself talk!" Sonic snapped.

"Only when I'm right… Which is most of the time. But more to the point, I was right about your relationship with Knuckles being a complete farce. It was over before it even started. You are who you are, and Knuckles could never tame someone like you."

Sonic scoffed.

"I don't need you to tell me what or who I am. Just… shut up and fuck me already."

"Look at you now. So bossy, yet so needy. If you aren't gonna fight back, at least let me tie your hands up."

"Do whatever you want. I don't care."

Shadow had only been testing him to see what kind of response he'd get, but he hadn't expected _that_ answer.

"Hm. No time for that. I'll keep you in check myself."

Shadow finally lowered himself fully onto Sonic's body, grinding himself up against him until both of their dicks were hard and rubbing up against each other.

Sonic gripped the sheets as Shadow's mouth made its way down his torso, licking and nipping the sensitive peach areas until he came to his throbbing cock, tongue slicking up along its length. He let out a reflexive moan as Shadow's tongue flicked over the tip of his dripping cock.

"Shadow…" Sonic called out, panting breathlessly.

"That's what I like to hear."

Shadow returned to kiss Sonic, putting himself in position to enter him. He shoved his entire length inside him without much warning, making Sonic writhe and whimper in pain.

Tears that had welled up in the corners of his eyes involuntarily spilled down Sonic's cheeks.

Shadow noticed this, mouth turning up into a self-satisfied smirk as he pumped in and out of Sonic's body.

"Don't act like you can't take it."

Sonic glared at him but kept silent, the only sounds coming through his parted lips now were the sounds of pleasure whenever Shadow's cock would hit his sweet spot.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With a satisfied grunt, Shadow came inside of Sonic, semen spilling out as he pulled himself out of Sonic's body. Just a few second earlier he'd made Sonic come all over himself, and now he reached over to his nightstand for a box of tissues.

"Here. Get yourself cleaned up."

Sonic looked curiously at Shadow. He'd never offered him anything like that before. Most of the time he'd leave immediately after screwing him.

"Thanks."

Sonic grabbed a couple of tissues to wipe up the mess.

"You can stay here tonight if you want," Shadow suggested, laying down on a pillow.

Sonic nodded and laid his head down halfway between Shadow's shoulder and chest.

The black hedgehog furrowed his brows for a moment, but then somewhat reluctantly wrapped an arm around him. He'd never stuck around long enough to cuddle with the blue hedgehog before, but experiencing it now felt better than he imagined.

Sonic had evidently dozed off after only a few minutes, and Shadow, never needing much rest, was left to his own thoughts. He thought back to the previous night and how Knuckles had incited Silver to ditch him, but it didn't matter to him anymore because the tradeoff tonight had been so worth it. If only Knuckles could see them now.

At that moment, a thought occurred Shadow.

' _Maybe he can_ …'

Shadow reached over to the communicator watch on his nightstand, giving the screen a few taps before raising it above himself to snap a photo of Sonic's sleeping form cuddled into his chest. It didn't take much to find out Knuckles' communicator address, and he sent the photo instantly.

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Knuckles had wandered for miles on end, visiting any place he believed Sonic could be. He didn't want to give up until he found him, but it was late and he was getting tired of wandering around with no sign of the blue hedgehog. He decided to take a break at the chao garden and hoped Sonic would drop by there on a whim.

As he sat in the Chao garden, petting the orange chao that Sonic had affectionately named PiuPiu, he heard his communicator watch chime. He looked at it immediately, hoping it was a message from Tails or one of their friends who'd seen Sonic, but as he opened the messaged, what he saw shocked him to his core.

In the photo, Sonic's cheeks were flushed as he looked to be sleeping peacefully, clinging on to that unmistakable black and white fur of Shadow's. The black hedgehog sported a devious smirk on his tan muzzle, and even though his eyes were cut off, Knuckles could sense them leering up at him mockingly.

Knuckles finally noticed the bold words written in the subject-line that simply stated: I WIN.


	10. Chapter 10

Shadow restlessly awaited a response from the echidna. He anticipated a text message, a phone call, or even a knock on his door, but when time passed and nothing came, he threw his watch back down on the nightstand.

Not only had he wanted to get even for the incident with Silver, but from the very beginning, he was deriving enjoyment out of watching Knuckles suffer emotionally by telling him the truth about Sonic. He was sure this would be the tipping point for the echidna to lose faith in the hero, and stop pursuing a relationship with him altogether.

After some time, Shadow opted to stop obsessing over the matter, and finally allowed himself to shut his eyes and relax.

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Sonic awoke before dawn, cherishing that millisecond of time between sleep and wakefulness when he couldn't recall the events of the previous day. Almost immediately after, reality sunk in and he realized where he was and why he was there. Waking up next to the black hedgehog was a cruel reminder of everything that had transpired.

He sat up cautiously, looking over at the other hedgehog's still form, and wondered whether it was even possible for him to be asleep.

"Shadow?" he called out softly, not wanting to wake him in case he really did happen to be sleeping.

Sonic was relieved when he didn't get an answer. He sat still for a moment, contemplating what his next move should be. As he did so, he looked around the bedroom, noticing that it had been personalized since the last time he'd been there. Shadow had mounted a variety of guns and artillery weapons on the walls, a reminder of just one more thing Sonic could never understand about the black hedgehog.

Thinking it over for a minute, Sonic got the clarity he needed and reassured himself that he had no reason to stay. This time would be just like any other time he'd slept with Shadow, only now, Sonic would be the one leaving.

Sonic slowly swung his legs over the edge of the mattress, careful not to shift it as he stood up, but he quickly realized all his stealth was in vain.

Behind him, Shadow had grabbed hold of his wrist, before Sonic could even take a step forward.

"Where're you going?"

Shadow's smooth, deep voice sent a chill through Sonic's body.

"I... thought you were asleep," Sonic diverted.

Shadow shook his head.

"Sleeping isn't a necessity for me. You of all people should know that by now."

Sonic scoffed and muttered under his breath.

"How could I?"

He slipped out of Shadow's grasp, stepping towards the bathroom door.

Shadow rolled off the bed, following Sonic while he continued his interrogation.

"Seems like you were trying to make yourself scarce without alerting me."

Sonic kept his cool, even though Shadow was making him uneasy.

"Yeah, so what if I was? Do you have a problem with that? It's not like _you_ ever stuck around after screwing me."

The black hedgehog had no response for that, seeming more amused by the retort than anything else.

Sonic scoffed again.

"God, you're unbelievable," he announced dismissively, as he reached for the doorknob.

Shadow stepped in between, making Sonic take a step backwards from a lack of space.

" _What_? I'm just gonna take a shower so I can get out of here."

Sonic was effectively peeved now, brows knitting together in annoyance.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Shadow asked.

"Seriously? You're the last person who should be asking that. You know what, I'll skip it. The sooner I leave here, the better."

Sonic made a move for the other door, but Shadow was relentless, gruffly pinning him against wall by his shoulders.

"Ugh, what the hell Shadow?!"

Shadow's crimson eyes narrowed, unnerving the younger hedgehog enough to keep him from breaking away. Sonic was shocked but kept his composure nonetheless.

"Maybe if I didn't know you, I might actually be intimidated by you," Sonic bluffed, "but whatever you're doing right now isn't working."

"Really? Then, there must be another reason why your body is quivering," Shadow remarked, running a hand down Sonic's torso, and resting it on his pelvis. He leaned in, but Sonic turned his face away before Shadow could steal a kiss from him.

Sonic's heart was thumping out of his chest, and it took everything to keep himself straight-faced.

"I don't get you… You had your fun with me… What more do you want?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I want your company for more than a few minutes at a time?"

"Of course it is! You've never wanted it before, why the hell would you want it now?"

Shadow brushed off Sonic's question, answering it with another question.

"First, tell me why you're in a such a rush to get out of here when there's nothing waiting for you out there?"

Sonic's eyes went wide, surprised at the suggestion. He tore his gaze away from the black hedgehog, his face attempting to betray what he was feeling at the moment. He hated to think that Shadow could be right. Even if he could come upon other distractions with his friends, the fact of the matter was that he now had one friendship that was so severely broken, he was uncertain whether it could be salvaged at all.

"That... isn't true," Sonic answered quietly, more to convince himself than the other hedgehog.

"Hmph." Shadow grabbed him by his jaw, tilting his head back up to face him. "Sonic, I may not know the full scope of your situation, but what I do know, is that last night you came here of your own free will… and you made your intent very clear."

Sonic's emotions were beginning to crack through his façade, eyes becoming glassy and unable to maintain contact. He kept silent while Shadow stared him down.

The black hedgehog could hardly keep his admiration contained, mouth turning up into a smirk. "You remind me of a tiny stray cat, you know. Seeking attention. Then turning tail and running away as soon as you get it."

"What's your point? What do you want from me, Shadow?" Sonic snapped, voice wavering in frustration. "You want me to be your boyfriend? I got news for you buddy, that ain't happening. I gave you a chance once and you lost it."

Shadow shook his head, amused by the suggestion.

"That's the last thing I want from you. All I'm doing is offering you comfort. Something to get your mind off things for a while, and, more importantly… Something to keep you warm between your legs…"

As he said those last words, Shadow took the liberty of lifting Sonic off his feet, until his thighs clenched his hips and was forced to grab onto his shoulders for support.

Sonic tried hard to determine whether Shadow was being genuine or not, but their closeness was beginning to cloud his sensibility. He allowed Shadow to carry him back to the bed, falling backwards onto it with the black hedgehog in tow.

Their bodies were both becoming naturally roused from the simple friction between them, and Shadow didn't wait a second to take the intensity up tenfold.

"I know it's what you want, Sonic… It's all you've ever wanted," Shadow whispered. He lowered his mouth onto Sonic's shoulder, continuing his exploration of his body through any means possible.

Shadow kissed, licked, and nipped, rubbed, caressed, and fondled him, all while Sonic laid sullen, passive to everything being done to him.

All Sonic could think about now was how meaningless it all felt. Physically it felt good, for certain, but was that really all he wanted? His mind meandered to what it had been like with Knuckles, and everything he had been trying to avoid by having sex with Shadow the previous night came swarming back to him.

"Shadow, stop…"

At first it came out in a breathless whisper that went ignored, but as soon as he found his voice again Sonic shoved Shadow away, sending the other hedgehog rearing back.

" _I said stop_."

Shadow huffed, scowling at Sonic, but he wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Coming here last night was a really bad idea. And sleeping with you... That was a huge mistake. I'm sorry. I can't do it again."

Sonic stood up making his way to the door once more.

Shadow snatched up Sonic's arm as he tried to get past him.

"So now you're back to whatever the hell this is… Oh well, your reluctance has always kept things interesting… As you know, I really enjoy breaking you in."

Sonic shot him a spiteful glare.

"I'm not playing into your twisted idea of foreplay, asshole. Let go of me."

Shadow obliged, freeing Sonic of his grip. He could tell Sonic was ready to put up a real fight if it came to that.

"Fine. It's because of him isn't it? You're planning on going back to him," Shadow stated assuredly, obviously referring to Knuckles.

Sonic didn't want to give Shadow the satisfaction of knowing either way, ignoring his inquiry.

"Hm. Your silence speaks for itself. But I hope you realize what you're in for. He isn't gonna take you back. Even an airhead like him can see that you're a slut. At least _I_ can take pleasure in that without judging you for it."

Sonic was furious at this point.

"I'm not going back to him! But I'm sure as hell not gonna stay with you. I know that whole speech about comforting me was a farce. You don't really care about any of that! All you want is reassurance that I'll sleep with you whenever you want."

Shadow smirked, shrugging off the accusation.

"I never claimed to care… Sure, my reasons might be selfish, but what does it matter if we both win in the end?"

Sonic was thoroughly disgusted by the black hedgehog's attitude at the moment.

"God… you never change!"

"Neither do you."

It was like running in circles trying to reason with Shadow. Sonic had finally had enough of it, rushing out of the room for what he hoped was the last time.

Shadow followed, only to sit casually on his sofa while he observed Sonic as the blue hedgehog all but broke the deadbolt.

"Go ahead and leave now. We both know you're just gonna end up crawling right back into my bed."

Sonic heard the remark, but he wouldn't indulge Shadow with another word.

He slammed the door shut on his way out.

xxxxxxxxxx

Even though the blue hero had dodged the stifling atmosphere, nothing could quite bring Sonic relief at the moment. He was still on edge, making sure he wasn't being followed, then turned his sprint into a full on run. He ran through town and countryside alike, with no real plan or destination in mind.

As his feet carried him across unfamiliar terrain, the feelings he had been suppressing took an overwhelming choke-hold of him. His vision blurred, and he didn't care to hold back anymore. Running at mach speed now, no one could see the tears flowing freely as they dissipated in the wind.


	11. Chapter 11

Avoiding his friends was something that came naturally to Sonic. He knew it shouldn't have been a means of coping by any stretch, but he couldn't bear to face anyone for fear of showing vulnerability. After his uncharacteristic spell of desperation, Sonic wouldn't take any chances. He tried not to dwell on it, sighing as he felt the caress of the sun's warm rays filtering through the trees in the forest he currently resided in. It had been a few days now since he'd been on the run. He'd only make the occasional pit stop to rest or eat.

In the evening, he came upon a roadside diner and decided it was a good time for a bite before his venture over to the next town.

As he ate, Sonic was half tuned-in to the weather forecast on the television when the next report began and images of Angel Island descending onto the ocean flashed onscreen.

Sonic froze mid-fry and quickly called out to the attendant.

"Hey. Do you mind turning up the volume?"

The attendant at the counter obliged, and Sonic paid close attention to the report.

"…today marks the fourth day since the mysterious floating island crashed near the site of the Mystic Ruins," the reporter continued, "But still no word on why this phenomenon has occurred once again. The investigation continues as people across the country are in a state of alarm, and rightfully so. The Island has a history of crash landing on earth in the past, with the events that follow being catastrophic. Many are speculating it could be a sign of yet another disaster to come, while others do not believe it to be a cause for concern. Whatever the case may be, we will keep you up to the minute as this story develops…"

Sonic tuned out the television as soon as the report was over. He sat quietly in his booth, as he processed the information; any semblance of tranquility he had managed over his three-day excursion was quickly vanishing. He was rapidly being overtaken instead by worry, and even a bit of guilt. He knew it was no coincidence that Angel Island falling had occurred immediately after his fight with Knuckles. But he also couldn't believe the guardian would be willful to go to such an extreme.

"Unless…" Sonic couldn't think of single thing that could have caused the guardian to abandon his duty to the Master Emerald, except for the one that was staring him right in the face. "Ugh… what is that knucklehead thinking?" he muttered to himself.

As much as he hated to face it, Sonic made up his mind to get to the source of his woes, if only to put everyone else's minds at ease.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic's first stop was Tails' house.

"Maybe you'll have better luck reaching him than I did," Tails explained as he handed Sonic his yellow tablet. "I've been trying to get ahold of him since I got back. Apparently he tried contacting me a few times when I was out of town, but he never left any voicemails so I didn't think to return his calls. Then I heard about the island falling and when I went to check it out for myself, well…"

"The Master Emerald was gone?"

"Yep. And Knuckles was nowhere to be found. Sonic, I'm really starting worry. What if he's in some kind of trouble? I should've tried reaching out to him sooner…"

Sonic admired his young friend's earnest attitude, although he wished Tails would be a little less inclined to put himself down for things out of his control.

"Don't sweat it, Tails…" Sonic reassured him. "Knuckles is a big boy. He can take care of himself. I'm sure it's nothing. You know what? I bet Rouge finally got the jump on him and took the Master Emerald for herself. They're probably duking it out as we speak."

Tails looked hopeful for a moment, happy that his friend could always make any situation better.

"Yeah. You're probably right Sonic…"

Sonic waited impatiently as the call connected and rang, but it was to no avail. He only heard the prompt to record a voice message.

At first he was hesitant to leave a message, but seeing his friend's concerned face made him quickly change his mind.

"Knuckles," he started nervously. "If you get this… call Tails back. He's really worried about you... We all are..."

He ended the call immediately and handed the yellow tablet back to his friend.

"Let me know if he gets in touch with you."

"Where're you going?" Tails asked as Sonic made his way to the door.

"I'm gonna go check out the island for myself. I'll be back soon, buddy."

With that, he was off to the mystic island itself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the isle where the Master Emerald's shrine resided, there was no trace of the green gem, or of its guardian. Sonic didn't know why he expected to find something there. He supposed he just needed to see it for himself to believe it. He wouldn't give up, however, and made the decision to scour the island in search of clues to the whereabouts of the missing guardian.

It took him nearly all evening, but Sonic covered all of the inhabitable parts of the island, ending at the burrow to no luck. He knew it was a longshot, but there were certain places of the island only Knuckles could easily navigate through. Well aware of the risk he would be taking, Sonic began his exploration of the Red Mountain area.

Whereas most of Angel Island was lush and green, and covered with abnormal fauna and the odd animal species only native to it, there were other areas like Red Mountain that were drab and barren of anything resembling life.

Sonic sped through it, jumping from cliff to cliff and bouncing off canyon walls, when he narrowly missed falling through what was now sunken onto the ocean. He took a moment to recompose himself, but he was quickly beginning to lose his determination.

"Shit. This is ridiculous…" Sonic groaned to himself, still shaken up and clinging on to the side of cliff. "Knuckles could be anywhere in the world right now and here I am traversing this _death trap_ in the middle of nowhere."

As he reeled himself up, Sonic also made up his mind to head back to Tails' house until he could come up with a better plan besides blindly searching for the guardian.

He headed out of the Red Mountain area, treading across an unsteady strip of land. Normally, he'd run across it, light on his feet, but he was so downcast about everything at the moment that he hadn't paid any mind to it. The ground quickly began crumbling beneath his feet.

Sonic raced to outrun it, reacting too little too late. Just as he reached for the edge, he was sent tumbling into the watery void below with a frightened cry. His body hit the water and he tried in vain to grab onto something to keep himself afloat, but there was nothing there, and nothing else he could do but flail his arms, a feeling of dread overtaking him. His worst reality was coming true, as he felt himself beginning to plunge further every time he came bobbing up for air, until he could no longer rise above the water. His vision darkened, but not before he heard his name being yelled, and a splash of water in the distance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic awoke in a coughing fit, spewing up water while his ribs felt like they had been crushed. Even before he looked upon his savior's face, he knew by the feel of the arms holding him up, it couldn't be anyone other than the guardian.

Knuckles held him close to his chest as Sonic steadied his breathing, still in shock from nearly drowning.

"You idiot. What the hell were you doing?" Knuckles asked softly. Even though his words were harsh, the feeling behind them were more affectionate than he let on.

"This idiot was looking for you… Remind me never to do that again," Sonic answered, beginning to regain his strength.

Knuckles let him go once he was sure Sonic could sit up by himself, then stood up.

"Thank you… I owe you for that," Sonic said, genuinely grateful to the echidna.

"Yeah, okay."

Knuckles brushed it off, seemingly returning to a previous temperament, and turned to leave without warning.

"Hey wait! Knuckles, where the hell have you been? Everyone's worried, you know? The Master Emerald is gone. The island is… down here."

The guardian turned to look at him, and seeing his face now, Sonic saw nothing but contempt. His confidence was quickly waning.

"Oh is it? I didn't notice," Knuckles retorted, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Sonic, I'm well aware of the state my island is in. _I'm_ the one that left it this way."

"Why? Was it… because of our fight?"

Knuckles scoffed in disbelief.

"What do _you_ think?"

There was a brief silence as the tension quickly rose between the two former rivals.

"Alright. Well if you aren't gonna say it, I'll go first. I'm sorry, Knux. Sorry for the way I left things off with you."

"What good do you think that's gonna do? Do you think that's somehow gonna undo your betrayal?"

Sonic's mouth became unhinged, totally taken aback by the remark. It took him a second to form a response.

"Knuckles, what are you still going on about? You really think I—"

"There you go again… I'm so sick of you patronizing me, Sonic! You think I don't know what you did?"

Knuckles tapped on his communicator watch, furiously unsnapping it from his wrist, and held it up for Sonic to see.

Sonic was shocked to see the candid photo of himself sleeping in Shadow's embrace. The screen faded to black, but that image would be emblazoned in his memory forever.

"How did you—?"

"How do you think," Knuckles cut in.

" _Shadow_?" Sonic snarled out the name, clenching his fists. "He sent that to you? I shoulda known. That son of bitch... He's the only person that would feed you all that bullshit about me."

"Is it, Sonic?! Is it really all bullshit? Because from where I stand, this photo," Knuckles said shaking his watch, "is undeniable proof that _everything_ he ever told me about you is true. Can you imagine that I didn't believe it at first? That I didn't _want_ to believe it? Oh, of course you can, because you take me for being some kind of idiot!"

"No, Knuckles, I've never—"

"Shut up! When you left with no explanation… I didn't know what to think. You didn't even say goodbye! I thought you left because you were done with me, and you didn't want any of the things you said you did. And then when you came back with that _phony_ note… I _still_ second guessed myself. I _still_ gave you the benefit of the doubt. I went looking for you to apologize for everything I accused you of, and for what? You didn't deserve it. You went off to do _exactly_ what you were denying."

Sonic didn't have an immediate response, too shaken up by the admission to speak.

"I… I know…" Sonic started quietly. "God, don't you think I know that? It was stupid… and selfish, and I regret every second of it."

"Good. At least you acknowledge that. But if you think that's gonna make a difference to me…."

Knuckles huffed, and in trying to maintain a level head, he turned to walk away, but Sonic quickly caught his wrist. He could feel the hedgehog's hand trembling as he held on to him.

"Knuckles, wait, listen to me… I know what I did was totally out of line. But, that isn't the only problem here… Don't you see what's going on? Shadow has been pulling our strings from the start. This is what he wanted. For us to be at odds so that he could keep me going back to him."

"You say that like you didn't want it, but you played right into it, didn't you? Sonic, I'm so sick of all this fighting. Nothing's ever gonna justify what you did, so why don't you just shut up and leave me alone?"

"Com'on, Knux, don't be like that…"

Knuckles looked right into Sonic's glistening emerald eyes. The hedgehog seemed to be on the verge of tears, and his face was full of remorse. It was enough for Knuckles to stay put and hear him out.

Sonic swallowed hard and let go of Knuckles' wrist before speaking up again.

"You know our friendship has always meant a lot to me… and if you don't, I'm telling you right now. I don't want to lose that. I don't think you do either."

Knuckles let out a sigh, unsure of how to answer that.

"Talk to me. Let's clear the air. No more fighting," Sonic urged.

Finally convinced, Knuckles plopped down on the hard ground while Sonic followed suit, sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"I don't know what else to tell you, Sonic. I can't ignore what you did. I mean, I look at you now and all I can think about is you sleeping with Shadow… I hate that you did, because I know that you did it just to spite me. I'm not saying I can't take part of the blame. I know I was at fault somewhere, too. I could have talked to you before it got to the point that it did. I _know_ I made a mistake. But what you did was far worse."

Sonic kept silent, feeling like he deserved to be berated.

"Even so, I… I meant what I said that night in my burrow… I love you. Man, I feel stupid saying it, but I do. I always have. As a comrade, as a friend, and even beyond that. You changed my life for the better, Sonic. And it's hard to see you with someone else. It's even harder to let you go."

Sonic shook his head in disbelief, eyes searching the echidna's face.

"Knuckles, don't say that… You don't have to let me go… I don't want you to..." Sonic uttered. At a loss for words, he leaned over on his knees, throwing his arms around the echidna's shoulders.

Knuckles tensed up at the embrace, pulling back slightly.

"Sonic. Don't…"

As Sonic retreated from the embrace, Knuckles was shocked to see the hedgehog's tear-stained face.

Perhaps it was because of the trauma he had experienced only a few moments earlier, but Sonic couldn't help being an emotional wreck.

Knuckles fought hard to hold back tears of his own before he spoke up again.

"Just, be honest. I don't want you to feel pressured into choosing something you don't want. You can keep living your life the way you always have. It isn't… wrong. I just don't see myself ever being able to take part in it."

Sonic sniffed and wiped his eyes, embarrassed for how easily he'd lost his composure.

"Okay… but, before _you_ make up your mind, you need to understand something first. You don't know how hard it was for me to admit to myself that I'd fallen for you. For someone like me… after all the one-night stands, all the nameless faces, after _Shadow_ … to have found something worthwhile with one of my closest friends. It scared me. Just knowing that your attraction for me went further than pleasure, further than friendship even. That changed everything for me. It's one of the reasons I left without giving you an explanation. In retrospect, I think I was also punishing myself for ever thinking I could make it work with you. I wasn't sure if I could return that love to you. I know it sounds stupid, but that's the truth."

Sonic paused for a minute, thinking over what he was going to say next. He took hold of one of Knuckles' huge mitts in his own hands, looking deeply into the echidna's shining violet eyes.

"Knuckles, you've always had my back. Hell even now, you pulled my ass out of the water. I'd be fish bait right now, if you hadn't rescued me. You're always there for me, whether I deserve it or not. I can say it wholeheartedly now. I love you. So if there's any chance we can make it work, I want to give it another shot. I don't want to go back to my old life."

Knuckles silently took it all in. He raised his hand, wiping away a tear that had involuntarily slid down Sonic's cheek. Seeing Sonic's hopeful eyes staring back at him, he lunged forward, pressing his muzzle against the hedgehog's in a desperate kiss.

Sonic was taken off guard for a moment, but he quickly recuperated, melting into the kiss as it became more passionate and less needy.

Knuckles brought him closer, sliding Sonic over his lap so that he straddled him. He broke the kiss after a moment, nuzzling the crook between Sonic's head and shoulder.

"You're freezing," Knuckles noted. He could feel Sonic's shivers running through his entire body.

"I've felt worse. It's no big deal. I bet you are, too. You're just as soaked as I am."

"I'm not the one that almost drowned. Com'on. Let's get you somewhere to warm up."

Knuckles jumped to his feet, taking the opportunity to scoop Sonic up in his arms.

"Hey, I can walk," the hedgehog protested.

"But you can't glide. The ground here is really unstable. One misstep and we're back to square one. Unless you _want_ to take another swan dive."

"Good point."

"Hang on to me."

Knuckles climbed up a cliff, finding a level jumping off point to start gliding.

"What I don't get is how you managed to slip up so badly, Sonic," Knuckles started as he glided across the dark horizon. "I mean, I know you take all kinds of risks every day doing what you do, but that was careless, even for you."

"I know. Guess I lost focus, after realizing I wasn't gonna find you. Lucky for me, you found me first. Where were you anyway? I looked everywhere for you and I couldn't find any trace of you."

"I was… underground. Actually, I wanted to leave the island altogether. Just to get away for a while. But ever since the news reports started, people have been flocking over here trying to figure out what caused the fall. I decided to stay put because I wanted to keep an eye on the shrine in case anyone started wreaking havoc on it. Then today, I got your voicemail."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot."

"Yeah… I knew you'd come looking for me so I tried to stay out of sight. I had hoped you'd give up and leave quickly, but that obviously never happened."

"You know I can't give up when it comes to things that are important to me."

"I'm… glad you didn't."

That earned the guardian a tender brush against his lips.

Knuckles cleared his throat before speaking up again.

"What about you? How'd you know to look for me here?"

"Well, what can I say? I just know you that well, Knux. I knew you couldn't stay away from the island. I mean, where else would you go?"

"Hey, I take offense to that, you know? There's plenty of places I'd go."

Sonic shrugged, shooting him a cheeky grin.

"In all seriousness, though, Sonic… You're right. This is my home. It's the only one I know. Unlike you, I can't go wandering off whenever I please, no matter how badly I want to. Would it surprise you if I told you there was a time when I envied you for it?"

"Nah. It doesn't surprise me. I totally get it. On the contrary, I've _wished_ that you were more like me. More open to escaping your little floating paradise, so that I might be able to see more of you. Still, the fact that you're so committed to your duty is something I've always admired about you, too. You have such a strong sense of responsibility and that's what makes you all the more amazing. Besides, I might have lots of places to go, friends all over the world to see, but I only have one you. And not that it's ever really bothered me before, but I've never really had a place to call home… 'til now."

"Yeah? Where's that?"

"Wherever you are."

Knuckles clutched Sonic tightly, and even after they landed softly on the grass in front of his house, neither let the other go, smiling brightly at each other with the most dumbfounded expressions, until they both leaned in for another kiss.

In the midst of their kiss, Sonic felt his spines being pressed against the wooden door of the burrow, impressed by how quickly Knuckles had got him all hot and bothered this time.

"Sorry," Knuckles apologized, trying to catch his breath. "We should probably get inside to warm up."

"Oh, I was already feeling the heat. But, that way works too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the burrow, Knuckles quickly got to work, starting the furnace and throwing some vegetables into a pot while Sonic lit up candles around the house.

"Thanks. Nothing like a little mood lighting and some hot tea to end a pretty shitty day," Sonic said, as Knuckles handed him a cup of tea.

"Day? Try week," Knuckles suggested, sitting down on the couch next to the hedgehog. He pulled up another blanket, wrapping them both in its fuzzy warmth. "It wasn't all bad though. We're here, and we're together, aren't we? And we're probably closer than we've ever been."

"Yeah. It's just… I think about how it could have all been avoided if we'd just been honest with each other from the start. And I know most of that is on me. If I had just told you about… Shadow. About everything really. It wasn't like, I was planning on keeping it a secret forever."

Sonic shot Knuckles an apologetic look.

"Don't beat yourself up about it anymore, Sonic. Neither of us knew what we were getting into with this. Even if you're experienced with some things, neither of us have ever been in a relationship. But, this is how we're gonna make it work, right? We're going to trust each other enough to talk about anything."

"Yeah, that's a promise. There's still a lot I want to tell you about… my past. But that's…"

"A story for another day?"

"Yeah."

"What about Shadow? You said he was the one that put all this in motion. We both know he isn't the type of guy to give up easily."

"This last time I saw him… I really drove it in that I didn't want to sleep with him anymore. If he still doesn't get it, well… we'll just have to burn that bridge when we come to it."

Knuckles' brows twitched in curiosity, and he let out a soft chuckle.

"Doesn't the saying go cross?"

"Yeah, but, believe me, I don't ever want to cross that bridge again. But man, I'm beat. I don't even wanna think about that right now. All I wanna do is curl up next to you, get all warm and cozy, and just relax."

"Well, the Master Emerald is in a safe place for now, so we'll have plenty of time for that."

"A safe place, huh?"

"Yeah I… sort of threw the shards inside a volcano."

"Wow. You really _were_ serious about getting away. Well, I'm glad you're not in a hurry to restore it. We're gonna have to take _full_ advantage of the time we have 'til then."

Sonic leaned in, kissing Knuckles to make his point clear.

"Mm, I like the sound of that," Knuckles said through a smile, as he returned the kiss.

Sonic laid his back on the couch, pulling the guardian down with him as they kissed.

In that moment, there was no wanton friction, no force, no desperation. In that moment, Sonic knew, he had made the right choice.

* * *

 **End**

A/N: Yes, that's it! So it's not the ship most of you were hoping for and I know it was kinda cheesy, but I really wanted it to end this way. I hope someone out there liked it. There really isn't a lot of Sonuckles out there, and that being one of my OTPs, it's just disheartening. icrie;_;

For those of you wanting more Sonadow, I have an idea for a prequel to this story, solely about Sonic and Shadow, as their relationship was mentioned here a few times. It's short so I'm really considering writing it, since some of you were interested in that.

And I doubt anyone cares, but I also have an idea for a sequel that'll focus again on Sonic and Knuckles as couple, but not so much on drama this time. I'm thinking it'll be a supernatural/romance story.

And last but not least, I want to say I appreciate all of you who took the time to read this! Those of you who comment always make my day, but even those I see just following or adding this to their favorites always bring a smile to my face. Thank you! :D


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